Found a stat that changed how I learn Python

I was reading through the Stack Overflow 2024 survey and it said 55% of developers started coding by just building projects, not doing tutorials. Most beginner advice I see pushes courses and bootcamps hard, but that stat made me think different. I switched to building a simple calculator app last week and learned more in 3 days than a month of YouTube videos. Has anyone else had better luck jumping straight into code instead of studying first?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade2261mo ago

That 55% stat is from the whole survey though, not just beginners. I mean, a lot of those people probably already had some coding background before they started building projects. What kind of background did you have before the calculator app? Like did you know what a variable was or how loops work? Because if you already had that baseline, jumping into a project makes way more sense. Idk, maybe the real question is what point you're at when you switch to building things. Tutorials feel useless if you already know the basics, but for total beginners they might still be helpful. Just my two cents.

rileyw721mo ago

You're really banking on a calculator app teaching you Python better than structured tutorials. Maybe the 45% who didn't just build projects actually know what they're doing.