Getting a Job as a Python Developer in 2018: Practical Advice and Skill Focus

Hey there, you. What's up? How's it going? I'm Qazi from CleverProgrammer.com, and welcome to this video where I'll be sharing practical advice on how to get a job as a Python developer in 2018. Don't expect fluffy advice or generic tips; instead, I'll give you specific, actionable information that will help you build your skills and increase your chances of landing a job.

First things first, let's talk about building a strong foundation. One of the most important things you can do is start building your GitHub repository early on. Now, does it have to be GitHub? No, my friend. You can use BitBucket, GitLab, or any other platform that you feel comfortable with. The key is to host your code online and make it easily accessible for others. Please don't use Dropbox or send your code through Zip Files; nobody wants to see that. By hosting your code on GitHub (or another platform), you'll be able to showcase your skills and demonstrate your commitment to version control.

Learning Git version control early on is crucial for any programming language, including Python. These skills are fundamental, and mastering them will show other people that you care about working with others. You don't want to learn version control when you're already working on a project; instead, start learning it now so that you can put your code into practice as soon as possible. By the time you're working on more advanced projects, you'll already have a solid understanding of Git version control and be able to share your knowledge with others.

Having a good understanding of Git version control is essential for any developer, and being able to work with other people's code is crucial in the industry. When you're learning to program, it's easy to get caught up in just coding for yourself and not thinking about how your code will be received by others. However, as a professional developer, you need to think about making your code readable and understandable to others. That's where PEP8 style guidelines come in.

If you're writing Python code, make sure you follow the PEP8 style guidelines. This means paying attention to things like indentation, spacing, and naming conventions. By following these guidelines, you'll be able to create code that is not only readable but also maintainable. Remember, your code should be clear and concise, so that others can easily understand it. When I'm taking notes, I find that making sure my writing is clear and easy to read is essential. Similarly, when I look back at those notes later, they make sense because they're well-written.

In conclusion, getting a job as a Python developer in 2018 requires more than just knowing how to code; it requires having the right skills and being able to demonstrate them. By following these tips and focusing on building your GitHub repository, learning Git version control, and adhering to PEP8 style guidelines, you'll be well on your way to landing a job as a professional developer.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Hey, you. What is up?How's it going? This is Qazifrom CleverProgrammer.com.In this video, I'm goingto talk about how youcan get a job as apython developper in 2018and what skills you should focus on.So without any further ado,let's jump right into it.(upbeat music)Alright, so in this video,I'm going to talk aboutvery, very practical things,and I'm not going togive you fluffy adviceI'm going to give you specific stuff,some book recommendations as welland what are the mostimportant things you needto focus on so you canbuild your skills as well asturn it into getting a job.Okay, whether it's full-time, freelancing,whatever have you.Alright, my friend.Tip number one: Buildyour GitHub repository.Now, does it have to be GitHub, Qazi?No, my friend. You can use BitBucket,you can use GitLab, whatever you wantto host your code online,please don't use Dropboxor send your code through Zip Filesbecause nobody wants to see that.So...Start on GitHub early on.Learn Git version control early onbecause those will bevery, very key skillswhen it comes to you landing a job.And you want to learn these skills,and these skills are fundamentalfor any programming language.And once you learn these,this is what shows otherpeople that you care aboutworking with other human beings.Cause you don't wannalearn version controlwhen you're working on some giant project.You want to be already messing up in itand learning through that trial and errorwhile you're just a beginner.So by the time you're workingon more advance projectsyou already got the Git version controland putting your code onGitHub repository downand you can actually putsome good stuff there.Cool?Alright, that's number one.Second thing I will tell you isYou should follow PEP8 style guidelinesif you're writing Python code.And that you should focus a loton making your code readable.Because this demonstratesthat you're not just codingfor yourself just so yourhead can understand it.You're coding for other people as well.Think about it like this,I don't know about you,but when I am taking notesI am a terrible note takerand in the meantime, I'll take these notesand they'll make sense to me,but then later when I comeback and look at these notes,I'm like, \"what does this mean\"?So that knowledge I got at one point isactually completely uselessto me when I look at it later.And what do you thinkhappens to somebody else wholike if I can't understandthe freakin' notesdo you think somebody elsewho's reading my noteswill learn from it andget knowledge out of it?Of course not, right?So take notes in a way where other peoplecan understand them andalso you can understand itcompletely clearly evenif you looked at itat some point later.Cause if you ever haveany experience workingwith a project that you hadto maintain for two weeks,a month, two months, three months?You will know, or a year, you will knowhow important it is to write readable codeso that you can go backto it and understandwhat it is you were doing.Cause if you don't, and youhave to refigure it all outand you have to scratch it all up again.Not good.And the other people who are going to belooking to hire you, the recruiter,they are going to seeyour code and be like,\"Uh-uh, this person isn'tthinking about workingwith other people. He's justthinking about himself\".Number Three:Learn the skill of documentation.Your code should notjust have Python in it.It should have some humanlanguage in it as well.Because ultimately you arewriting code for human beings.So you need towrite a lot of documentation.If you're in United States,definitely the documentationshould be in English.So meaning like what each function does,what each class is doing,how is your code working?Documenting it, very important.And then having a README fileof your GitHub repository.So how does your code actually work?And that shows people that,\"Hey look, this personis so considerate thathe has a README guide,so that anybody thatgoes through his projectcan immediately understandhow things are working.You wanna go crazy on theskill of documentation,putting your code on GitHub,and making your code very readable, okay?So PEP8 style guidelines and all of that.Some recommendations,other recommendationsI'm going to give you toimprove your skill set is:read other people's code.Alright?Now, I don't know about you,but when people used to tell me thisand I would go online and read code,I'd be like, \"what thehell does this mean?I don't understand any of this\".What you need to do is readcode around your skill level.That's what people don't tell you.Okay?So sometimes what I would do, for example,is let's say I was takinga course in Coursera.Okay?Or Udacity.com.These are online MOOCs, Massive Online...Whatever, courses.The idea behind them is thatonce you're going through itwhat you can do is like,let's say there's assignmentone that you are doing.There's going to be somebody in the worldwhose also done this assignmentand decided to put it on their GitHub.You can go to that person's GitHuband after you givingthis assignment a try,you can look at how they coded it.So if they're a beginner,you'll be able to readand actually understandtheir code if you're a beginner as well.Don't read some crazy advance librarycause it's not gonnamake any sense to you.I'm going to be honest,reading some advancepeople's code makes no senseto me to this day, okay?But I read around my skilllevel, that's an important thing.Nobody talks about it.They're just like,developers are just like,\"Yeah, just go read code\".Yeah, okay. Good luck.Good freakin' luck just reading any code.So find something that'saround your skill leveland learn from that, okay?If you make a rock-paper-scissorsgame in Pythonor tic-tac-toe game.Then look that up on GitHuband see if someone else hasmade a rock-paper-scissorsgame that you can understandand then read that code.Or go on Stack Overflow and read questionsto some simple...Answers to some simplequestions and read their code.So you being able to readcode is a very important skillthat you need to cultivate.And if you're more advance,look into Kenneth Reitz and read his codein the Requests library,which is one of the mostphenomenal libraries in Pythonand it's called HTTP for Humansand it's him, that's like thebest physical manifestationof somebody who truly understandswhat it means to writecode for human beings.And if you look at his GitHub repositoryand his documentation andjust his style of coding.You'll be like, \"Wow. This is awesome\".So that's another tipI'll give you on improvingyour skill and what skillsare the most important.Other tips I'm going to give you areread a book called Fluent Python,especially if you're aroundthat intermediate level.Almost died there actually.Read books on this becausebooks like Fluent Pythonwill teach you a lot of Pythonic code.So this way you don't justlook like somebody who wasdeveloping yesterday in C++and decided to work in Python today.That shows your ability with Python.So for example, insteadof using regular listsfor something, you canuse list comprehensions.Somewhere where you needto use a generator or yieldinstead of wasting a lotof your speed of your codeby not using a yield or generator.A lot of these more advance skills,you're going to learnthrough something likemore advance books.So read something thatgives you the ability towrite more Pythonic code.Tip number 23. I lost count at this point.But the reason why I'm giving you theseis because a lot ofthese are very tangibleand you can actuallyget on them right away.And before I actually moveon from Kenneth Reitz,recently I learned something new.I was looking up KennethReitz and I looked up oneof his recent essays onproject structure for Pythonand he talks about how youshould structure your codeand he said something aboutDjango that I actuallydidn't know.And he says a lot of Django developerscreate their repositories in the wrong wayand it causes a lot of confusion.And poor naming conventions,so he gives this tip on how not to do itI'll actually put it right here,the screenshot of the essay that I read.And I learned something new right away.And now as a Django developer,if I have that on my GitHub repositorywith that tip he said, whensomebody who is in the industryreads my code now will be like,\"Okay, this guy knows what he's doing\".Another person I will tell you about isyou should look into this guy:Raymond, I believe his lastname is Hettinger. Or Hettinger.I don't know how to pronounce it,but incredible dude. I'velistened to so many of his talks.Fascinating, entertaining,incredibly intelligent...And just the way thathe speaks is so eloquentand he will make you laughand show you really Pythonic stuffand he's one of the peoplewhose added so much tothe Python library andso many powerful contributions to Python.You should listen to his talksand definitely listento his one on transforming codeand something like transformingcode and idiomatic Python.So I'll put a link to thatsomewhere in this descriptionin the Youtube descriptionso you can watch that video there.Learn from that and actuallythen go back to your codeand actually turn it intomore and more Pythonic code.Put that up on your GitHub repository.And in summary, here'swhat I'm going to say:There's no wrong way.There's only the right way.Or you can go through.- Go right and then go through something.(laughter)Anything you want.- Wow, alright.- Thank you so much for watching,as always this is Qazi, I love your face,and I'll see you in the next video!Woosh!\n"