6 YouTube channels I follow to get better at Python
YouTube offers so much Python content that choosing what to watch can get overwhelming. In this article, I share six YouTube channels I keep an eye on to improve my Python skills.
Why this article
As a YouTube addicted, I watched hundreds of Python videos in the last couple of years. Going through all this content has helped me immensely in my learning path, so I would recommend it to the ones who want to learn more about coding.
However, there is a lot of content out there so it might be tough to decide where to start from. To make your life easier, in this article I listed six YouTube channels I follow closely to get better at Python. You will notice that these channels are somewhat complementary as they cover different topics with different styles, at different levels.
#1 - ArjanCodes
The first channel I present is ArjanCodes (link), by Arjan Egges. Arjan is a startup founder, software developer, and Senior Lecturer at the University of Utrecht.
What makes this channel unique is that it mainly focuses on software design and code architecture. Design patterns, development styles and project-level best practices are some of the recurring topics. Great postproduction alternates practical examples with theoretical explanations, resulting in enjoyable high-quality content.
The channel mainly targets medium/advanced coders who want to improve the quality of their projects. It thus expects its audience to be confident enough with Python’s fundamentals, so it might be a bit overwhelming for beginners.
Here are some example videos:
- Cohesion and coupling: write BETTER PYTHON CODE Part 1
- Dependency inversion: write BETTER PYTHON CODE Part 2
- CODE ROAST: Yahtzee — New Python code refactoring series!
#2 - Tech With Tim
Tech With Tim (link) by Tim Ruscica is one of the larger Python YouTube channels with more than 750k subscribers. Tim is a computer science Bachelor Student at the University of Ottawa, founder of TechWithTim, and Algorithms Instructor at AlgoExpert.
This channel offers a variety of content: project examples with specific libraries (ex: Flask, Pandas, Pygame), conceptual explanations, tools usage. Tim has been posting consistently for more than two years so the amount of material available is huge.
I consider this an excellent channel for beginners since it goes through the fundamentals while also providing full projects walkthroughs, which are great in motivating new coders to start their own projects.
Here are some example videos:
- Python/Pygame Checkers Tutorial (Part 1) — Drawing the Board
- Git Tutorial for Beginners — Git & GitHub Fundamentals In Depth
- Python Typing — Type Hints & Annotations
#3 - Corey Schafer
Corey Schafer (link), by Corey Schafer, is another large YouTube channel with almost 850k subscribers. Corey is a Software Engineer.
A lot of videos are grouped into series of five/six dealing with a single topic, for example, a library (ex: Matplotlib, Pandas, Flask) or a programming concept (ex: classes, testing).
While the channel has been inactive for quite a while - unfortunately Corey recently disclosed that he is going through some personal issues - I would definitely recommend it because of the unmatched completeness and clarity of its explanations.
Here are some example videos:
- Python Tutorial: Itertools Module — Iterator Functions for Efficient Looping
- Python OOP Tutorial 1: Classes and Instances
- Python Tutorial: Duck Typing and Asking Forgiveness, Not Permission (EAFP)
#4 - Data School
The third channel I present is Data School (link) by Kevin Markham. Kevin is a Data Scientist & Founder of Data School.
Data School is a channel about Data Science through Python. The content is highly focused on two areas: scikit-learn and pandas. The videos are quite simple in their editing, with Kevin talking while writing code.
Given its degree of specialization, Data School is the perfect place both for beginners and advanced users who want to learn more about Python’s Data Science libraries. I personally watched every single pandas video when I started my Python journey and I cannot stress enough how much it has benefited my learning.
Here are some example videos:
- How do I handle missing values in pandas?
- How do I merge DataFrames in pandas?
- Examine the intermediate steps in a Pipeline
#5 - mCoding
The fourth channel is mCoding (link) by James Murphy. James is a Mathematics PhD and founder of MCODING, LLC.
This channel does not focus solely on Python as it deals also with C++ and general math. mCoding’s videos tend to be fairly short, 5–10 minutes, and focused on a single narrow topic, often a rather technical one.
I suggest this channel to experienced users who value content over entertainment and look for spot-on information about topics they are not familiar with.
Here are some example videos:
- Mind-bending metaclasses — adding function overloads to Python
- The Best Way to Check for Optional Arguments in Python
- Python 3.10 match statement FAQ
#6 - anthonywritescode
The final channel of the list is anthonywritescode (link) by Anthony Sottile. Anthony is a Software Engineer at Stripe and an active contributor to the Python project.
The channel has no rigid structure, it is mainly Anthony casually talking about random topics or ideas/questions coming from his streams. Generally, the videos are short and focus on narrow topics.
While the videos are nominally divided into the three categories beginner/intermediate/advanced, I would not suggest the channel to beginners as Anthony takes a lot of aspects for granted and tends to make extensive use of jargon.
The communication is a bit confused - I think the videos are completely unscripted - so it can be hard to fully understand what is going on on the screen. However, if you are hardcore enough, I still suggest you check it out as it deals with topics that I found nowhere else. Moreover, it is quite fascinating to see how a recognized open-source contributor deals with code.
Here are some example videos:
- what are python doctests? (beginner — intermediate) anthony explains
- how I sped up python’s tokenize module by 25% (intermediate) anthony explains
- pretty python profiling (intermediate) anthony explains
Conclusion
The six channels presented are quite different from one another, showing how vast Python is in terms of content and styles of approach.
Overall, I believe the online community to be a great source of knowledge regardless of one’s expertise. There is a lot of free content readily available and my strong encouragement is to explore as much as possible.
I hope this article was useful, see you in the next one!
