Introduction

Python has become one of the most widely used and easily accessible coding languages worldwide. It has been an empowering tool for many people across different fields in STEM and even other disciplines of study. 

Acquiring such an essential skill is a coveted opportunity since it improves your chances of employability and, more importantly, provides a technical solution to different problems. Whether it is data analysis or developing simple programs to automate menial stuff, Python and its packages have covered everything. 

Now, one might ask where to acquire this knowledge, and to answer that, the python central staff have compiled a resource of a few online courses that are accessible and comprehensive enough to make you proficient in Python. Note that this list is in no particular order, and they are all best suited for different purposes altogether. Keep reading to find out!

What Comprises A Good Python Course?

Our criteria while selecting the courses were based on factors like ease of access to absolute newbies and interesting tricks for proficient users looking for more experience. Some way to objectively analyze this is to keep a sharp eye on these points:

• Usage of analogies: If the teacher can explain concepts like ‘strings’ and ‘variables’ to people without mathematics backgrounds, it is a good sign
• Less homework, more active classwork: It helps people correct their mistakes more often, and since they can rewind most recorded classes, it also helps them revise.
• Experience in the industry: If the teacher has been actively employed in the computer programming industry, they’re more likely to have more tricks and tactics up their sleeve than ordinary semi-professional teachers.

Top 10 Python Courses Online in 2022

#1 Introduction to Python Programming (Udemy) 

This short, 2-hour introductory course is best suited for beginners. Made by The Codex, an educational institution founded by Avinash Jain, a student of UC Berkeley, this free course does its best to familiarize a person with no prior experience with coding with the key features of code in the context of python. You can finish these 15 tutorial video courses as quickly as possible because they are 10 minutes each. Hence, this course can be finished incredibly fast. Since it is free, it can be used by anyone from beginners to partial coders with mediocre knowledge of fundamentals.

Instructors: Avinash Jain, founder of The Codex, an institution that aims to democratize code knowledge.

Special features: Extremely short duration for a very comprehensive course, as it covers many topics that require further study but does a good enough job of simplifying it enough to give any layperson the gist of the matter. It is also free, which is a bonus plus a point.

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#2 Learn Python 3.6 for Total Beginners (Udemy)

The name of this course is a mild misnomer, as the course does expect you to have some basic understanding of Python or coding in general. Ss a lot of extremely vivid details were glossed over, this course outperforms in terms of knowledge delivered effectively within a really short period. This course is best suited for intermediate or early beginners. This is a 6-hour course, complete with assignments, live problems, and 39 recorded lectures that demand you also to follow the code on your console. These lectures are conducted by the immensely experienced Michael S Russell, a business analyst with 20 years of experience handling large quantities of data using Python and other coding languages.

Instructor: Michael S Russell, MSc Finance and Banking, who is a great teacher who can anticipate your mistakes and also has wonderful tips to reduce workload for people who are semi-proficient or novices.

Special Features: The lectures are subtitled and usually have a visual of code and another for PowerPoint, meaning they are high quality and edited professionally. They are easy to follow visually, but we would also say that the teacher teaches at a leisurely pace, which is, in a way, actually good and gives space for students to think. You will also learn about handling the Jupyter Notebook.

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#3 Python Essential Training (LinkedIn Learning)

This is a slightly shorter, 5-hour course, which is structured in a very balanced way, goes slightly slow at the beginning to onboard the beginners, and eventually picks up pace. This course is suited for early beginners and semi-proficient intermediates. 

Instructors: Bill Weinman, Tech Educator and Python specialist, have over 25 years of experience in producing content about coding languages like C++, Java, and of course, Python. The experience shines through in the quality of the content of the lectures.

Special Features: This course is certified and provides a certificate at the end, valid as an attachment to your curriculum vitae. This course is prestigious, and Bill Weinman has taught many people to code over the year. Hence, even this 5-hour course holds value amongst companies looking to hire people on a freelance basis for certain coding tasks. You learn about loops, modules, and everything under the sun within 5 hours, complete with chapter divisions and quizzes at the end of every chapter.

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#4 Python 3: A Beginners Guide to Python Programming (SkillShare)

This is a more comprehensive course with over 8 hours of content, plus 9 different projects to help you hone your skills and gain practical experience. This course is best suited for beginners and intermediate-level coders. It focuses on developing frameworks for applications, so that is a central focus, which is not bad because developing an application incorporates most of the major tools and applications of Python and familiarizes you with all of it. 

Instructors: Tony Staunton, proficient in multiple coding languages and employed in the IT sector.

Special Features: Provides certification for the course at the end, but the best part is the bonus 9 different projects that the course gives you to apply the skills acquired during the 8 hours of lectures and quizzes since there are no guidelines and you are free to approach the problem however you like.

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#5 100 Days of Code: The Complete Python Pro Bootcamp for 2022 (Udemy)

100 days of Code is one of the most hands-on, intense, and comprehensive Python courses available online and is notorious for being slightly difficult to keep up with as the amount of information is overwhelming. Hence, it usually takes newcomers more than 100 days to finish this course. This course is best suited for intermediate-skilled coders and coders who want to branch out to other uses for Python. 

Instructors: Dr. Angela Yu, a data scientist and avid user of Python is proficient in almost every use of Python, so her course seems to offer something to people of all skill levels.

Special Features: Over 60 hours of content, projects, and more, making it one of the most comprehensive courses online. It is paid but offers a certificate of completion. It also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee if you are unsatisfied with the quality of your teaching.

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#6 Data Ingestion with Python (LinkedIn Learning)

This is one of the first courses on the list that is better suited for advanced or upper intermediate coders. This is partly because this course focuses on data management and applying Python statistical analysis techniques. This course is perfect for biological scientists who have to deal with a lot of data and might not be proficient in the language yet. 

Instructor: Miki Tebeka, data specialist and experienced teacher of coding.

Special Features: Geared towards scientists and people in STEM who need to learn the language, as it is structured specifically to deal with data-heavy files and learn how to segregate and manage them in Python. A lot of templates and other resources are also provided. It also provides a certificate.

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#7 The Python Bible™ (Udemy)

This is a fun and application-based 9-hour course, structured using 11 fun projects, and teaches you the basics and advanced techniques, so it is best suited for intermediate or beginners in coding. 

Instructor: Ziyad Yehia, from the Internet of Things Academy, an institute that teaches people how to code across the world.

Special Features: 11 fun projects will be approached by you after being taught the concepts you need to tackle them. Throughout the 10-odd hour course, you would have built 11 working applications or programs in Python by yourself, which is commendable.

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#8 Building Tools with Python (LinkedIn Learning)

This specific course is centered on building tools that automate repetitive tasks and are best suited for intermediates and late beginners. This course is great because it can help people not traditionally in STEM but in other fields, as menial computational tasks are still time-consuming for many.

Instructor: Scott Simpson, coding veteran, IT industry specialist, author, and teacher.

Special Features: Focuses on building automation tools, tools that help in sorting, managing spreadsheets, and other smaller tasks, and can help people in retail, business, or even scientists and sociologists.

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#9 The Complete Python Course: Beginner to Advance (SkillShare)

This 16-hour course is well-compiled and well-researched, with something to offer to beginners, intermediates, or veterans. This is, in many ways, the overarching course, so it misses a few specifics but helps you learn Python via learning with fun projects and lectures.

Instructor: Joseph Delgadillo, Tech author and self-taught Python expert, educator, and lecturer, founder of JTDigital, a coding education firm.

Special Features: Two projects with free reign to apply your concepts, script writing, Django framework, and GUI designing are all cool parts of this course.

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#10 Python A-Z™: Python for Data Science with real Exercises

This is a hyper-specific but short course of 11 hours on applying Python techniques most of you might possess after basic Python courses in data science and machine learning and using AI-based techniques to build useful automation tools for yourself. This course is suited for advanced or late intermediate coders.

Instructor: Kirill Eremenko, founding member of Agency, one of the world's biggest online Python tutoring and programming languages academies.

Special Features: Focus on data science, the law of big numbers, Jupyter notebooks, loops, and data analysis techniques. This course offers a certificate and is also accepted by major companies as a genuine feature of your CV. You will also learn about Matrices and data frameworks, which is useful.

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Conclusion

While all of these courses fill some niche or provide a specific sort of education suited to your needs, we feel that #5 100 days of code is still the best overall and one of the most comprehensive courses in Python available online. #2 Learn Python 3.6 is the best for beginners but has a sharper learning curve.

Some of these courses are paid, and details are available on affiliate links. Your decision depends entirely on your needs and what you want to achieve using Python.