Ask HN: How to spend a six month sabbatical? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How to spend a six month sabbatical?

2 pointsTheFutureIsHere2 comments

Hi HN

I have just finished up my undergrad and wont be starting my Master's until fall this year. The programme I am joining is a bit more IT heavy (think quantitative economics mixed with some software development) than my undergrad. I have been advised by acquaintances in the programme to get extremely comfortable with Python before starting.

I do have some basic Python experience from a summer internship but I still am nowhere near any sort of profiency. I wanted to ask you about how to best spend the coming six months in order to prepare for the programme?

Would it make sense to get involved in the Open Source community or am I simply too inexperienced to contribute?

Is there anything I could study besides "pure" Python (e.g. algorithms or another language) that would make sense to have in my developer toolbox?

You should learn to use big and famous python libraries which are relevant in your field (and neighbouring fields). This could be scipy/numpy/matplotlib, pandas, but also something regarding user interfaces, such as PyQt, or web libraries (why not learn Django, Flask), or database libraries.

For the science-related libraries, there are excellent and extensive tutorials and courses in the web. I would prefer actual experience over text book knowledge.

If you want to earn some money, these libraries are used by a lot of data research intensive companies; you could do some freelancing (even remote) or an internship.

If you like OSS, study the source and the open tickets of the relevant libs. Enroll in the developer mailing list, if applicable. Get into touch, there will be work which you can do.

Happy studying!

You say you have an basic understanding of Python but it's hard for me to say what your level is.

That being said, what I would do is try to follow the resources out there and whenever you get stuck on concepts to google them: https://www.google.com/search?q=python+economics&oq=python+e...

I don't use Python often though so you'd better lean on someone else for good resources on Python itself.

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