(Python) Where to Go From Here?

[pmasiar]

LaRoza, with your education, you won't be working for 5K/year.

[CptPicard]

LaRoza, you'd rather come to Finland... free tuition even for foreigners (! -- might change, we're educating the Chinese atm) and our department would be happy to have you (yes you need to get into computing..)

[LaRoza]

LaRoza, you'd rather come to Finland... free tuition even for foreigners (! -- might change, we're educating the Chinese atm) and our department would be happy to have you (yes you need to get into computing..)

I am not a foreigner! Foreigners are people who are not USA citizens

Computing? Never heard of it. Just a side hobby.

After getting my Bachelors in Security Management, I will think about law school (I would have to trade in my ethics, but for that much money...why not?) or computer forensics.

[Zugzwang]

LaRoza, you'd rather come to Finland... free tuition even for foreigners (! -- might change, we're educating the Chinese atm) and our department would be happy to have you (yes you need to get into computing..)

But isn't it true that on the other hand, wages in Finland are quite low?

Btw, this reminds my of the university I've been to which recently introduced tuition fees, but *not* for non-EU foreigners (which formally had to prove that they didn't had the money to pay but the threshold of monthly income allowed was high enough such that most natives would also have been below it).

[Tuna-Fish]

Instead of doing random problems, just figure something of your own you want to build, and start building it. You'll learn faster, and have more fun that way.

[CptPicard]

But isn't it true that on the other hand, wages in Finland are quite low?

Not really. We're comparable to the rest of the Nordic countries except Norway which in turn is pretty much the most expensive country in the world. Google tells me average monthly wage in 2005 was € 2500 before taxes (I remember it was in the news that these days it's about 3000), € 1700 after.

I have a hunch that our uni is going to introduce tuition fees to people from abroad, as the system isn't quite working as I think the idea was... to increase the international student body and to lure people over here. Now we do get a lot of Chinese students, but they just study and move somewhere else to work, which is not exactly the goal... *oops*

[themusicwave]

I never knew education was so cheap in India and parts of the wolrd other than the USA.

I finished my B.S. in Software Engineering last year and now owe about $20,000(US). That's not bad debt considering that each year was about $20,000.

As for the original question I was going to recommend Programming Python it's written by the same guy who wrote Learning Python, but is about 3 times as thick. If you think Learning Python is too long you are going to have fun in college. Many of my text books were about 1,000 pages.

Anyways, if you don't like reading books I suggest just going for it. Think of a program you'd like to build. It doesn't matter if someone else already built it better or whatever, just do it to learn.

Personally I learn by doing. I can read the book cover to cover, but the real learnign doesn't start till my hands hit the keyboard. Perhaps it's the same for you.

I do still read the books though because usually those people know more about the language than I do. They can also teach me not only how to program, but how to do it right.

[CptPicard]

I never knew education was so cheap in India and parts of the wolrd other than the USA.

Well, pretty much everywhere in Europe the cost of education is on the taxpayer, or at least very nearly so. If you do the math on the paycheck numbers I gave in the above post, you'll figure out that absolute cheapness is not so easy to evaluate -- certainly though when you're a 20-year-old, if you've got the ability, your financial situation is not an issue. Of course the underlying assumption is that once you grow up, you'll pay for the education of the generation that comes after you

[pmasiar]

Even in USA, there are state universities, where education is much cheaper, especially for in-state students, and community colleges (where you can get credits for first 2 years of college even cheaper, then transfer to state university). In our state, tuition is about 8K/y (paid in part by state's taxpayers), compared with Yale 45K/y it is real bargain Of course you get what you paid for - if you want to pay premium for excellence, compared to just OK.

Also, if you are really smart, you should consider PhD, and PhDs are most often financed by grants (you are paid to study) - and them it is not much important where your undergrad degree comes from, but if you are smart and promising

[danbuter]

Look up Problem Solving with Algorithyms and Data Structures using Python. It was free on python.org, but that website is currently down. Look later and it will probably be there. You will learn a LOT from this. Also, try out Python in a Nutshell.