How Long Does It Take to Learn Python?
A realistic answer to how long it takes to learn Python as a complete beginner, with what you can do after each stage.
The honest answer is that it depends what you mean by "learn". But for a complete beginner, here's a realistic picture.
The basics: about 10 hours
In roughly ten hours, you can learn what a program is, how to print messages, use variables, ask for input and make decisions with if. That covers the first four modules of this course, and it's enough to write small programs of your own.
Comfortable beginner: about 30 to 40 hours
Add loops, functions, lists, text, dictionaries, files, error handling and classes, and you'll understand the core of Python. That's the whole course: 79 lessons, most taking 15 to 30 minutes each. At the end, you'll write a complete text adventure on your own.
Job-ready: months of practice
Getting a programming job takes longer, because you also need practice building larger projects, and the tools of a particular field, such as websites or data. The fundamentals are the same, though, and they're what this course teaches.
How to learn faster
- Practise little and often. Twenty minutes a day beats three hours once a week.
- Type everything. Reading code isn't the same as writing it.
- Learn by doing. Games make you use each idea straight away, which is why they work.
You can start right now with the first free game.
Learn Python with games, free
Play the three games in Module 1 now. No account, nothing to install.
Play the first game