With 718.000+ students, Complete Python Bootcamp: Go from Zero to Hero in Python 3 by Jose Portilla is the most popular Udemy course. As its heat was still there after years of release, I decided to enter and review this complete Python Bootcamp to see what all the fuss was about.
Our score:
4.5
| PROS | CONS |
Chatrooms full of interactions Updated materials Three milestone projects Bonus at the end |
Some concepts are glossed over Hard for beginners at first Limited topics for advanced learners Quizzes not challenging enough |
Overview
Released in 1991, Python’s extensive frameworks and rich set of libraries make it the top programming language. It’s most notable in Data Science, Machine Learning, and Web Development.
Due to the language’s popularity, Python has become the most requested skill for any developer. If you’re looking to enter the world of Python, you should first know basic concepts. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the fundamentals, it’s time to look deeper into the language.
I’d definitely suggest online courses, especially for beginners. They’re cheaper and provide the flexibility that real-life classes lack. However, online Python courses are either too basic or too advanced. It’s hard to come across a course that covers the vastness of the language.
Complete Python Bootcamp: Go from Zero to Hero in Python 3 is one such course. With 718.000+ students, it is, by all means, the most popular course on Udemy.
The review for this complete Python Bootcamp is going to be rather long. If you just want a quick recap instead, below are the pros and cons of the course.
In my full review for Complete Python Bootcamp: Go from Zero to Hero in Python 3, I’ve put together my thoughts on:
- Jose Portilla – The instructor of the course
- What I’ve learned in the Bootcamp
- What I like and dislike
Jose Portilla – The Instructor of the Course
Let’s meet Jose Portilla, the instructor of this complete Python Bootcamp before digging into the review.
Jose Portilla
Jose Portilla is a household name in the field of Data Science. He majored in Mechanical Engineering at Santa Clara University. This solidifies his background in engineering. Throughout his career, Jose has gained significant experience in Data Science and Programming. He’s hoping to apply this skill set in teaching and helping others learn to program. His other course, Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp, is also popular among the Udemy community.
Before you decide to purchase any Udemy course, it’s always a good idea to check out the teacher’s profile first.
What I’ve Learned in the Bootcamp
The target audience for Complete Python Bootcamp: Go from zero to hero in Python 3 is:
- Complete beginners
- Programmers switching language to Python.
The course comprises of 185 lectures spread over 24 hours. Here’s a full breakdown of the lessons:
1 Overview
Jose starts out the course with a general introduction to Python and its features. This is followed by the benefits and drawbacks of the language. Although the tutorial sticks with Python 3, notes on Python 2 are still available for reference.
2 Setup
After you’ve chosen your preferred development environments and text editors, Jose will help you install Python. The instructor has chosen the Anaconda Python framework and Sublime text editor for this course.
3 Data types
Data types are the building blocks of a language. I like that data types are covered quite detailedly in this Bootcamp.
4 Operators, Statements, and Functions
Once I fully understood data types, I moved on to Python constructs to perform operations on those data. The operations are usually arithmetic, logical, or relational.
5 OOP and Exceptions
Python is an object-oriented language. After a while, I found out that to understand the way it implemented the programming paradigm, I first needed to understand the concepts. That’s why I’m glad that Jose takes time to explain classes, objects, exception handling, and other OOP concepts.
6 Debugging
My friend, who is a programmer, once told me “You cannot call yourself a programmer until you’re able to debug the code.” Apparently, Jose is thinking along the same line. From basic code steps through complex troubleshooting, he leaves no stones unturned.
7 Modules and Packages
Python is popular because of its enormous libraries. Knowing this, the course instructor covers Python modules and packages with details.
8 Decorators and Generators
Here is where beginners like me struggle to understand. Decorators and Generators are topics targeted at more advanced learners. Newbies can bookmark them for later use.
9 Advanced Concepts
This section is also geared toward advanced learners. It highlights the best practices to make optimal usage of Python constructs.
What Worked Well
Having finished the course, I would say that Complete Python Bootcamp: Go from zero to hero in Python 3 does have plenty of features that stand it out from a sea of online courses.
First off, with 716.000+ students, the chatrooms are full of interactions.
At the end of each topic, there’s an FAQ section where learners can look for answers to their problems. With the thickness of the interaction history, any question you may have has probably been answered. You don’t have to wait days, or months, for a proper solution.
Old students also created bookmarks throughout the duration of the course. These are super useful, especially for advanced learners. You can base on these bookmarks to decide which sections to skip and which to jump to.
Thanks to platforms like GitHub, students can chat across courses. This enables enthusiasts to interact and share their knowledge. It also helps create a healthy environment where people from different backgrounds can collaborate to propagate their ideas.
Throughout the course, there are milestone projects to remind you of the knowledge.
It’s tiring to learn continuously. I couldn’t go two hours just watching a lecture.
Luckily, Jose tries his best to keep learners engaged with quizzes and tests. These occasional tests force my brain to stay awake while periodically gauging my memory.
There are three milestones to help you keep track of the course and the concepts. At each milestone, there is a project where you can practice what you learn and get direct feedback from the instructor and other students.
I’m new to programming. Half the time, I’m not even sure what I’m doing. These projects and feedback really help keep me grounded.
Up-to-date material is a huge plus.
I’m not wrong to say that Complete Python Bootcamp: Go from Zero to Hero in Python 3 is updated monthly.
As a matter of fact, a slight error in one of the multiple questions in the notebooks had recently been reported. After the report, Jose immediately fixed it and notified all learners.
This is an important factor for me when choosing a course. I want to know that the course creator actually takes the time to sit down and review the materials, not just putting the course out there.
There are bonuses near the end of the course.
At 24 hours, Complete Python Bootcamp: Go from Zero to Hero in Python 3 touches upon most of the Python constructs. You’ll get 18 articles and 19 coding exercises. In addition, you’ll also receive a Jupyter notebook framework. This enables you to maintain your own set of notes during the course.
Near the end of the course, there will be optional bonus materials on the Git-version control management system and certain Python GUI concepts.
Students who stick till the very end of the course will also get a bonus lecture as well as discount coupons for other Development courses created by Jose Portilla and his team.
What Could Be Improved
Of course, everything is not all gold and roses.
I was amazed by the number of enrollments for this course. 718.000? It’s a huge number. I remember thinking to myself that with that many students, the course couldn’t be a bad one. My expectation was pretty high at that point.
Fortunately, the course turned out fine. Of course, it’s not perfect. There are certain parts in the course which, if changed, would make the class even better.
- In the attempt to cover most of the Python features within only 24 hours, Complete Python Bootcamp: Go from Zero to Hero in Python 3 has glossed over concepts like strings which could have been a little more in-depth.
- Some beginners also reviewed that it was a bit difficult for them, in the beginning, to catch up with the pace of the course or to try to handle the difficulty level of the milestone projects.
- As the course tries to ramp up beginners, topics offered to advanced students like decorators, generators, and GUI are quite limited. Hence, they might not be able to deep dive into the topics of their interests.
- Also, the quizzes are a bit straightforward. Although they are supposed to help learners gauge their memory, the quizzes can be a bit more challenging to push the students forward.
Is the Course Worth It?
Up until now, Complete Python Bootcamp: Go from Zero to Hero in Python 3 has received a total of 197,144 ratings from students. If you go through the reviews on Udemy, you’ll see that most of them praised the course and the instructor. However, there are still plenty of reviews claiming that the course is rather boring and not practical. The instructor’s accent is hard to comprehend.
Those are not completely wrong.
Would I recommend the course?
Even though the course has received mixed feedback from learners, the overall content is actually of high quality. Jose Portilla did try his best to cover the Python concepts in a comprehensive manner and keep the course updated.
So, yes! Complete Python Bootcamp: Go from Zero to Hero in Python 3 by Jose Portilla is still a course worth taking.
At least for me, it has been a decent guide on my path to becoming a web developer.
Hope that my review about the course Complete Python Bootcamp: Go from Zero to Hero in Python 3 on Udemy has been of some help.