#1 My Month with: Python

Hey hey,

So as promised, every month I will be doing something different, whether it is learning a new skill or researching. This month I decided to try to somewhat tackle the difficult endeavour that is coding.

Now with no coding experience prior to this, I asked my IT friends which code I should try and learn and why. With a number of different responses, python was the overwhelming favourite, as it is "well below machine code but gives you a good understanding of most other codes", whatever that may mean.

On top of this I also decided to do a little research of my own, as I wanted to know what I could do with my newfound skill. So, after browsing through like 4 or 5 websites (limited research I must admit) and talking to a bunch of my friends I found out that python is used in a really wide variety of different things, from web and app design to data analytics. It is apparently a really commonly taught language in intro coding courses because it is used for so many different things and has developed a really strong following throughout the last decade or so. Also, programs like pinterest and instagram are built using python.

So with this knowledge, it was time to start learning it. I had a bit of a look around for free online courses but options were limited I must say. Luckily, my uni friend came to the rescue, being in IT her uni had provided her with a program called grok which has a number of different coding courses, and she kindly lended that account to me for a little while. So I started on "Intro to programming (Python)" (seemed appropriate), and off I went.

While I was in the middle of exams for the majority of November, I did use grok as downtime, as I found coding really interesting. For someone learning a language for the first time, it is super interesting to see how different things work and interact with simple text. Obviously I have only just scratched the surface of what python can do but it is very interesting, which is why I bought myself the grok yearly package to try and finish off the courses for python and possibly expand by (very limited) repertoire.

While I feel coding has limited exposure, it is a very under rated skill which is invaluable to have for a number of different endeavours which you may want to undertake sometime throughout your life. I also feel that with new technology coming out left right and centre, that coding it would be a huge advantage to have some kind of coding knowledge under your belt moving forward into future.

In summary, coding isn't a hard or particularly expensive trait to acquire. While it may be hard to master, it is a valuable skill to have on your resume that could definitely make you stand out from a crowd, and moving into the future would definitely be desirable in jobs. Definitely would recommend.

Please upvote, and if you want me to do or learn something in particular then comment below.

godspeed,
galvin

*just want to make sure this is all my opinion (I am a 20 yr old uni student), and that my knowledge on this topic in particular is very limited