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Is learning programming worth it? Outside of a career, what can I do with programming? (self.python)

submitted 1 year ago by pedantichedgehog to c/python

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I learned a little bit of python back in college with the hope that it would give me a competitive edge in the field I hoped to enter. Lo and behold, I got a job in a different industry entirely and any knowledge of coding I once had became irrelevant.

Would it be worth it to pick up my python textbook again and self-teach in my free time if I don't want to make a career of coding? What exactly can python be used to create?

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Probably. I learned the basics of coding when I was young and I constantly find use for it, even if I'm not a coder by trade.

It's not the language or editor or anything specific, but the core understanding of rigid logic and the linear thought necessary to solve problems that makes the difference.

The understanding of programming is itself a tool. Just like if all you have is a hammer, every problem is a nail, but if you didn't have the hammer in the first place, then you wouldn't think of it being a solution at all. Get yourself a hammer, get yourself an understanding of programming.

In practical usage I make a lot of use of VBA for Excel. It's not a very good language but it is fast and extremely versatile. Obviously I use it mostly for Excel data, but the task doesn't even have to be related to numbes at all. F.i I made an app to sort a bunch of image files and rename them according to a list that came from some other software. It used to be a dreadful task that would take hours and hours.

I believe this could be done in almost any job that involves any kind of data. Even if the data are just any sort of files on a pc.

Python is similar. You might not need python specifically, but if you understand what you can do with it, then you can apply that usage to many situations.