I taught myself to code in 2020 with no degree and no money.

@theblackfemaleengineer

140.9K followers · usually 2.0K views a post

Views

25.2K

Likes

2.6K

Comments

13

Shares

106

Selling · SaaS › AI Tool

Claudeseen in 998 videos →https://claude.ai ↗

Why it worked

The video provides high-value, actionable technical advice that solves a common pain point for beginners, while seamlessly integrating the product as a helpful utility rather than a sales pitch.

Summary

A software engineer shares a practical strategy for learning Python by using real-world datasets from Kaggle. She demonstrates how to use the AI tool Claude to explain the code required to analyze data, emphasizing the importance of understanding fundamentals despite using AI assistance.

Structure

1Personal story about learning to code
2Identifying the problem with learning Python
3Step-by-step guide to learning with Kaggle
4Using Claude to generate and explain code
5Final advice on balancing AI tools with core knowledge

Product placement

The AI tool Claude is explicitly mentioned and shown on screen as the recommended method for learning Python code.

Original caption

I would learn to code a bit differently in 2026 #Tech #learntocode #learnprogramming #cs50 #computerscience

More from @theblackfemaleengineer

Their other posts in the index, biggest breakout first.

On-screen text

I taught myself to code in 2020 and no money the first thing I did was NOT learn Python hi I'm Naya and I'm a software engineer Python was just so abstract to me I decided to take the simple route and learn HTML and CSS instead six years later Python was the number one skill across job descriptions so here's how I'd learn it in a way that actually stuck first go to kaggle for a topic you love next use Python to find the following information 1. The most common value in one column 2. The average of a number column 3. The top 5 results sorted by any category 4. Filter the data down to only rows that match a condition you care about but you don't know Python use this prompt to have Claude walk you through how to use Python to get that information this exercise will help you learn four Python fundamentals loops, conditionals, sorting, and filtering because yes, you'll use AI to help build your projects but a hiring manager will be able to spot the fact that you don't know the fundamentals

Transcript

I taught myself to code in 2020 with no degree and no money. The first thing I did was NOT learn Python. Hi, I'm Naya and I'm a software engineer. Python was just so abstract to me. I decided to take the simple route and learn HTML and CSS instead. Six years later, Python is the number one skill across job descriptions. So here's how I'd learn it in a way that actually stuck. First, go to Kaggle and find a database for a topic you love. Next, use Python to find the following information: 1. The most common value in one column. 2. The average of a number column. 3. The top 5 results sorted by any category. 4. Filter the data down to only rows that match a condition you care about. But you don't know Python. Use this prompt to have Claude walk you through how to use Python to get that information. This exercise will help you learn four Python fundamentals: loops, conditionals, sorting, and filtering. Because yes, you'll use AI to help build your projects, but a hiring manager will be able to spot the fact that you don't know the fundamentals.