There are many Python courses, and although some are easier, faster, or more complete than others, the fundamental difference will be your time availability and if you want to take the course for free.
Below, you can find some of my favorite free Python courses (plus one paid one) that will allow you to acquire the basic knowledge and skills needed to take the first step in your learning process in Python (or even data science).
It’s important to note that the list below is not exhaustive, as there are numerous courses available. However, the courses listed here are among the best-known free options, which means they have been refined, corrected, and improved over time. This ensures that you’re investing your time in courses that are of high quality and will provide a solid foundation for your learning journey.
I hope these options can help you reach your learning objectives and become Python savvy in a flick 😉
Let me know which course is your favorite and any other Python resource you think should be on this list.
Lina Marieth xx
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Python Courses
Python – Kaggle
Estimated duration: Just a few hours
This Python course is made up of 8 short tutorials with their respective practices in which you will learn the most basics of Python. You will be able to learn how to create and modify lists, how to do Boolean operations and call functions, and how to work with dictionaries. It is a very complete basic course that will allow you to get started in using Python. The best thing is that it is a free course and you can get a certificate once you finish it.
Learn Python 3 – Codecademy
Estimated duration: 22 hours
Codecademy is an online learning platform with multiple courses in various programming languages. It is a platform where you must create an account to access its resources. The good news is that you can access the courses for free once you register for the basic plan, and they offer discounts for students on their payment plans. The most exciting thing is that you can write and run code written in Python directly from the browser without installing anything on your computer.
Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python – Edx
Estimated duration: 9 weeks – 14–16 hours per week
This is an introductory course offered by MIT with an estimated duration of 9 weeks. It is necessary to register in advance as it is an instructor-led course with a defined calendar.
It is designed for you to learn data structure, some simple algorithms, verification, and resolving errors in the code.
The free version allows you to access the course material; if you want the support of an instructor and have someone grade the assignments and exams, then you must access the paid version.
This course is designed so that in combination with the course “Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science,” you can appreciate what computer science is, highlighting the usefulness of writing code in Python to solve problems.
Python Basics for Data Science – Edx
Estimated duration: 3 weeks – 4–10 hours per week
This is a specific IBM course for beginners with a duration of 3 weeks, investing between four and ten hours per week. In this course you will learn what the utilities and applications of Python are in data science, the purpose of having functions, how to define variables and how to operate with files, among others. It allows you to advance at your own pace, but you need to register in advance. Keep in mind that if you opt for the free option, you will only have access to the course material for its duration, so you must finish it on time.
Introduction to Python – DataCamp
DataCamp has multiple online courses and learning plans designed to develop specific skills in topics such as data visualization or statistics. It also has learning plans to “become” a data scientist, machine learning scientist, and data engineer, among others.
The disadvantage is that with a free account it is only possible to access the first chapter of each course, so if you want to take a complete course it will be necessary to access a payment plan.
The good news is that if you are an educator in the United States, you can access DataCamp Premium for free after verifying your academic email. If you are outside the United States, you can request a free premium account through DataCamp Donates.
Google for Education: Python
Estimated duration: intensive two-days
Although this is a free course designed for people with basic programming experience, the good news is that it includes step-by-step instructions on how to install Python on your computer.
In addition, it has a forum with questions and answers to the exercises or projects proposed during the course so that you can consult the most common doubts or problems that other people like you face while taking the course.
Each section of the course includes written materials, lecture videos and exercises that will help you develop your programming skills and test everything you have learned.
The course is designed to be an intensive two-day course, so you can take the opportunity to learn intensively and move on to the next thing on your learning list.
The Python Bible – Udemy -> Paid option
Estimated duration:10 hours
Udemy is a very complete online course platform, as it has courses on a wide variety of topics.
Particularly in programming, it has the course called “the Bible of Python” with a total of 74 lessons condensed into a total of 9 hours of video classes.
With this course, you can learn everything from installing Python on your computer to variables, logic, conditionals, and functions, and it has an object-oriented programming section.
Although it is a paid option with a 7-days free trial, you can obtain a course certificate upon completing it.