Welcome to the Treehouse Community

Want to collaborate on code errors? Have bugs you need feedback on? Looking for an extra set of eyes on your latest project? Get support with fellow developers, designers, and programmers of all backgrounds and skill levels here with the Treehouse Community! While you're at it, check out some resources Treehouse students have shared here.

Looking to learn something new?

Treehouse offers a seven day free trial for new students. Get access to thousands of hours of content and join thousands of Treehouse students and alumni in the community today.

Start your free trial

Python

Help needed

Hi, so I am almost finished with the learn python track and I understand all of it. But what I noticed is that it says

"An entry-level salary for the technologies covered in this track is about $70,000 / yr on average."

But all we learnt was about console applications, how is that useful in any way?

I am regardless going to learn Django/Flask ec, but I was just curious if that statment is accurate.

1 Answer

Austin Hawkins-Seagram
Austin Hawkins-Seagram
5,720 Points

The basics of python, so far, have not used graphics. That doesn't necessarily mean you will only be using them in the console. In the track they are TESTED in the console. But these same programs could later run with graphics, could be part of an app, or could be programs running in the back-end of a server. This covers most of the work you would do as a developer.

And even if it stayed as-is, and you only interact with a command line, you've just learned how to build an executable terminal command! Not a very useful one, because it is self-contained, but with a couple sys system calls you have a file sorting framework or an automated email sender or a virus depending how you format it.

Also, pretty well anything you do via the GUI (your desktop, browser, click able programs) you can do via the terminal, and if you know what you are doing, it's faster. Most of the work for building websites and applications interact with servers (computers) and they will do so through the exchange of information, and often, system commands.

In terms of "is this useful," absolutely. However each important element you learned had a useless app built around it. Walking in to a job interview and saying you watched a video about object oriented programming and copied their code will impress no-one. But if you want to keep moving forward, start building your own projects. Learn to make python useful by connecting it to the Web (there are useful things beyond import), and to your own computer (system calls, file path implementations, etc). Look at Github for inspiration/ideas about how to strucure things.

In short, what you have learned is useful, because it is a basic toolset. There's a lot you can do with it once it's all put together.

Good luck and keep going.

Best answer I have ever received on here. Thank you so much.