Mark Lutz's Python Training Options for Individuals

All my classes are delivered in in-person, on-site, private mode, at a hosting company or organization. As of 2010, I no longer offer public classes open to individual enrollments, and my clients do not open up their classes to those outside their oranizations. If you are an individual looking for Python training, I suggest exploring the following options.

On-site Classes

If you can round up a few other interested people at your organization, a private on-site session might work for you. Even for very small groups, on-site prices often compare favorably to public class options, especially when student travel and extra time away from the office are factored in to the total cost. Please don't hesitate to ask if we can assist in your training plans.

Python Books

The text Learning Python, 5th Edition directly parallels the core language portions of the classes I teach, and the majority of a typical 3-day session. Since this text also includes the same exercises with solutions, it can be used as a self-paced substitute for a live class, and this is one of its explicit goals.

Naturally, books don't offer the same interaction and feedback as live classes, but books can be studied at whatever pace you wish, and provide more in-depth coverage than any 3-day training session possibly can. In terms of scope, the book is more like a full semester class, while the 3-day session is an abbreviated version aimed at providing a quick-start introduction. Because the class is a subset of the book, you may find working through the book to be a more complete learning experience.

In addition, the follow-up text Programming Python, 4th Edition parallels the application-level topics usually introduced on the last day of the live class. Here, too, the book is able to explore these topics in much more depth and detail: while the class generally covers these only briefly in overview and survey fashion, the book is able to present larger examples and richer narrative that provide a much fuller coverage.

Other Providers and Options

If you cannot get a group together and self-paced study of books isn't an option for you, I suggest a web search to see what other training providers might offer. You'll find both public classes and assorted online options today.

One caution: make sure you look into such options carefully, and verify their instructors' backgrounds in both training in general and Python specifically. The number of training options tends to increase with a subject's popularity, but this doesn't necessarily guarantee instruction quality (and often implies the opposite, unfortunately). As a rule, the more a class promises to teach you in 3 days, the less likely it is to succeed. Some other options are no doubt very good, but I advise scrutiny when looking for training in any increasingly popular domain, including Python.

This is especially true for online courses, which have experienced a growth surge in recent years; these might prove useful, but what they may offer in convenience they will lack in live interaction with a subject authority. Some online/virtual options may also be weighted more heavily towards entertainment and socialization than education; there's nothing wrong with that type of experience, but in terms of coverage depth, this is roughly the same as comparing watching a one hour TV science show to taking a traditional science class. For more of our take on video/web-based training, see this section.

Please note that I can provide neither recommendations nor support for any online training options, because I am not associated with them in any fashion — even if they employ my books in their curriculum. This includes O'Reilly's Python certificate programs (now defunct, as of August 2015), and free online classes associated with MIT and other institutions; please see your training provider for training-specific assistance.

Training

Topics

Prices

Setup

About

Contact

Top

Main

©M.Lutz