I spent $80 on a coding course that was way too hard for me

I got really excited and bought an online course called 'Python for Data Science' last month. The ad made it sound perfect for beginners, but the first lesson jumped straight into writing loops and functions without really explaining the basics. I felt lost after the first video. I tried for two weeks, watching each lesson three times, but I just couldn't keep up. It was a total waste of $80 because I didn't learn anything useful. Now I'm back to using free tutorials that start with 'what is a variable'. I wish I had checked the reviews more carefully or looked for a preview. Has anyone else bought a course that was way over their head? What do you look for to make sure it's actually for beginners?

2 comments

2 Comments

noah_black1mo agoMost Upvoted

Saw a tech blogger tear apart one of those "beginner" courses last week. He showed how the first exercise was literally importing pandas and cleaning a real dataset. That's like lesson 20, not day one. I always dig for the actual curriculum list now, not just the sales page. If it doesn't clearly list "installing python" and "your first print statement" as early modules, I assume it's going to be a mess. Those free tutorials you're back to are usually way more honest about the starting point.

noraj791mo ago

That "first print statement" check is a solid rule.