this post was submitted on 22 Mar 2026
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Programming

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Hello everyone ๐Ÿ‘‹, Iโ€™m seeking advice from experienced devs. I understand the fundamentals of Python (I've got them down pat). The challenge is that when I actually work on real-world projects, even though I know how the project should be built (theoretically), I have trouble executing it.

I understand the thought process behind the project and can identify what I need to do, but when I am faced with a specific task, I tend to forget the actual implementation of the task.

I'm trying to transition into AI/ML; however, I'm struggling with the above issues.

Can anyone give me:

  • Suggestions on how to become better at practical thinking while coding?
  • Suggestions on how to effectively use learned concepts in real-world projects?
  • Suggestions on how to increase my problem-solving skills?
  • Recommendations for some sort of practice project or project-based learning?

Any support, thoughts, guidance or past experiences you can share would be a great help and Share Some Material For Learning.

Thank you.

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If you're truly honest about wanting to improve your skills then do not use AI!

Just write code. Any code! It doesn't matter. Spend the hours problem solving and debugging and banging your head against the wall. That's how we all learned and gained experience. But also reach out and seek help about specific problems you can't solve.

For a project idea, how about a program that uses the Lemmy API to scan resent posts for Python topics. It's something that can start basic but can be expanded upon. Start simple by just scanning posts from the last day. Then expand by adding a configurable date range, scanning several communities, multiple topics, presenting notifications, etc.

[โ€“] TehPers@beehaw.org 3 points 22 hours ago

Working with ML libraries is a lot different than traditional software dev since those tend to be a lot more loosely typed and grounded in mathematics (linear algebra, calculus, etc).

To answer all of your questions at once: just keep writing code. Work on a lot of projects! Try reading the source code for other projects, like the libraries and tools you use.

Try to use LLMs as little as possible when writing code as well. It won't help you practice.

[โ€“] sukhmel@programming.dev 4 points 1 day ago

What do you mean by this?

when I am faced with a specific task, I tend to forget the actual implementation of the task