Warning: That $50 Udemy course on Python was a total waste for me

I kept seeing everyone recommend this one popular beginner Python course so I finally bought it. It was just slides and theory with zero actual coding exercises. I got through about 30 minutes before I realized I was learning nothing practical. A coworker at the restaurant told me to try freeCodeCamp instead and I actually learned more in one weekend. Has anyone else fallen for a hyped course that turned out to be basically a PDF?

3 comments

3 Comments

violaramirez13h ago

Oh man, I got burned by almost the exact same thing. That course had me watching someone read slides for hours and I felt like I knew nothing after. Switched to a YouTube playlist with actual projects and it clicked way faster. What are you moving onto next now?

the_wendy7h ago

@violaramirez yeah that sounds about right. My buddy from the kitchen tried that same hyped course and he was so frustrated after a week he almost gave up on coding entirely. He kept saying it felt like someone was just reading a textbook at him with no real practice. Then his girlfriend told him to try The Odin Project and he finally started actually building things. Now he's making little scripts to help with inventory at our restaurant and he's way more confident. It's crazy how a bad first course can almost kill your motivation to learn.

the_jake3h ago

Bad first course can almost kill your motivation" - yeah I read this thing from a dev on Medium that said learning to code is like learning guitar. You don't start with theory. You start with three chords and a shitty song. Those textbook courses just break people down for no reason. Glad your buddy found The Odin Project though. Heard that one's solid. A friend of mine tried FreeCodeCamp after getting wrecked by a bootcamp and now he's doing React stuff for his job. The difference is night and day. Makes you wonder why these big hyped courses don't just build real stuff from day one. Like give people something that works before they even know what a variable is. That's the hook.