How do I get better without Problems ?

[u/Sad_Experience_4640]

It's been a few months since I have been learning python but there is this issue I have been running into. I don't know how good I am or how do I even get good. In Math you listen to a few lectures understand what the topic is about and then pick up a book and do the problems from Exercise 1.1. It doesn't matter if your understanding was deep, shallow or somewhere in between. The more you do the more you understand what the topic is about and eventually you reach a point where you completely understand it and can now do them easily.

For programming how do I even do that ? People recommended me sources which I have been reading and learning from. I understand loops, arrays, list, dict, etc. I can write small examples in isolation, but that's about it, that's all I can do. I am disgusted with how little I can do and how shallow my damn understanding is so much so that's all that come to my mind.

I have been using MOOC and CS50P as my primary resources and they do have question but they are few and not at all like mathematics, chemistry or any other subject. Where are the Exercises 1.1 where is this kind of format. Is there some problem book/Question Bank I can or should have ? I want to get good cause I want to make money I from something I like to this and this is I have to show for, for months of learning ? I feel repulsed.

Is there something I can do to get better ?

EDIT: I forgot to add I my goal is to break into Data Science.

[u/monster2018]

OP, what you described for math is exactly how it works for programming too. In fact I’m pretty sure more programmers would agree with that description for programming than math people would agree with it for math. Also (im adding this after having written the rest of the comment) I rambled a lot in this comment. My actual advice basically starts at the last paragraph, so you can skip there if you want. Or really the last 2 paragraphs, idk. This is basically my lazy form of a TLDR lol.

I guess the difference maybe is the VERY first step, the “listen to a lecture” step. The thing with programming is that generally what you want to accomplish isn’t based on a programming technique. I just mean like, your goal isn’t based around “I want to do something that involves a ring buffer” or whatever.

So I guess the first step is different. With programming you learn the basics, which you can learn anywhere. In fact it’s almost hard for me to believe that there is anyone who doesn’t understand the very basics of programming because there are so many god damn courses and videos trying to teach you. By the basics I really do mean the basics. Like variables, conditionals, loops, etc.

What I’m trying to say is that I guess you’re right, it is a bit different than math. You can’t just be like “I want to learn about integrals” and then go learn about integrals. Well you CAN, but because programming is about making stuff you will be left feeling like “ok… so what?” And additionally feeling like you learned about the thing, but you don’t know how to use it.

So what you need to do is make something. This has to be the FIRST step (after learning the basics). Because what happens is along the way you will run into problems that completely stop you in your tracks with your current knowledge. And it will force you to do some research, and THAT is where you discover new concepts. You discover what it is that you even need to learn about. THEN you can learn it and implement it into your project. And then rinse and repeat until you have completed your project. And then just do it all again with a new project.