Many companies offer professional development stipends and opportunities for employees, and even the general public, like Google, Snowflake University, and MongoDB University. Coursera and Udemy offer certifications and courses that are both free and fee-based. YouTube offers a lot of tutorials, including one from freeCodeCamp.org, and Codecademy offers a free course on its website. Major universities also offer free Python classes for the public. These resources are everywhere.
Nothing beats hands-on training, though. If you can weave AI tasks with Python into your tool set at work and learn on the job, that will benefit you and your company. For those who don’t have that option, I recommend rolling up your sleeves and getting started on Python projects on your own. About a year ago, I spent some time over a few weekends using Python to build a personal AI-based widget to help me with my workout training and nutrition suggestions. This is just one example of how you can take the initiative to learn AI skills in a hands-on, engaging way. I encourage all of the folks I manage and meet with to do the same.
The synergies between Python and AI are strong, and they are expected to become stronger as AI gets integrated into additional applications and industries. Python’s simplicity and versatility make it an ideal choice for developers looking to harness the power of AI. As AI technologies evolve and become more prevalent, Python developers have a chance to take the initiative to learn about them and remain relevant and adaptable in a rapidly changing landscape.