7 Reasons Why You Should Learn Python

Overview

Python is a high-level object-oriented programming language with built-in data structures and dynamic semantics. Structures, object-oriented programming, and functional programming are among the programming paradigms it supports. It consistently ranks as one of the most popular programming languages according to the 2021 Stackoverflow Developer Survey.

Python can be used for a variety of tasks, such as data visualisation, scripting & automation, machine learning, web development and game design. It is quite a verbose programming language that reads somewhat like the English language, unlike many other programming languages. This is why many programmers fall in love with Python as their first programming language or language of choice.

If you are an aspiring programmer thinking of learning Python, here are 7 reasons why you should go ahead and take a course.

1. Career Opportunities & Salary

It’s no secret that tech industry salaries are soaring, with employers competing for a tiny pool of skilled individuals. Last year, programmers’ salaries in Singapore climbed by an average of 22%. This trend, which is the result of aggressive recruitment from both Chinese and American tech companies to fill hundreds of vacancies in Singapore, is likely to ensue 

If you look closely at many of the job descriptions posted by these companies, a significant number of them require candidates to have knowledge in Python programming. This just goes to show the commercial value of Python programming. Google, Netflix, NASA, and YouTube are just a few of the well-known firms that use Python in their software development.

2. Extremely Beginner-Friendly

Python’s syntax is verbose which makes it easy to understand and learn. Therefore, it is often touted as one of the most beginner-friendly programming languages.

For instance, here is an example of how you print “Welcome to coding” in both Java and Python programming language:

As you can see, Python looks so readable and intuitive that even someone with no programming background can make an educated guess on what the code does. Additionally, you can also observe that Python allows you to do the same work with fewer lines of code. This is also one of the key reasons why we recommend Python programming to beginners.

3. Scripting & Automation

Without the requirement for human intervention, the Python programming language can be used to develop scripts and automate activities. This makes it extremely practical.

Have you ever heard of the term ‘botting’? Python scripts can be used to create auto-clicking computer robots that can be used to gain an advantage on limited-edition auction sites or to automate monotonous jobs. Here is an article written by one of our instructors on how to use Python to automatically generate PDF reports.

4. Data Visualisation & Machine Learning

The Python ecosystem has some of the most comprehensive and well-documented libraries for data science. Libraries are pre-written codes written by other programmers which we can use in our code, instead of having to code it from scratch. In Python, developers have created many wonderful visualisation and machine learning libraries which significantly shorten the time required to create useful products. This allows us to stand on the shoulders of giants.

View Data Visualisations that our students have built with Python here.

5. Web Development

Versatility is one of the key traits of the Python programming language. Other than being good for workplace automation and data science, it can also be used to build web applications. Python is often used as a backend server language and in conjunction with javascript to build beautiful website designs. You will learn more about this in our WD100 course.

In fact, Python powers many of the well-used and popular websites today, such as Meta, Netflix, Spotify, Dropbox and Reddit.

6. Libraries & Packages for everything under the Sun

Libraries are like building blocks for any code. A useful metaphor is bricks for skyscrapers. Python contains a number of libraries, packages, frameworks, and modules for data manipulation, statistical calculations, web development, machine learning, and data science.

Data visualisation is not the only thing python can do. Want to create games? Use PyGame to build Python game engines. Developing a website? Use Django or Flask to build apps quickly with minimal code. Build machine learning models? The Sklearn & Tensorflow libraries are perfect for you.

7. Active & Supportive Community

Python has a wide community of people who can help you with programming issues or software issues. In the community forums, you can post your queries, and members of the community will answer in real-time. On top of that, Python also has plenty of documentation and guides written for developers of all skill levels (beginner, intermediate, expert).

Conclusion

If you wish to have a structured introduction to Python, consider taking our AI100: Python Programming and Data Visualisation Course. Through the course, you will walk away with a strong foundation in Python Programming and data visualisation, and a good intuition for problem-solving with computational thinking.  Our instructors are all data science practitioners who apply Python in their day-to-day work to build sophisticated visualisation and machine learning models, and will thus be able to weave industry-relevant experience into the course. . Get in touch with us here to learn more about our academy and course offerings!