Learning Python is HARD!! - CCNA | CCNP Network Engineer

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About this video

NetworkChuck vents that learning Python has been far more frustrating for him than CCNA/CCNP, which came naturally, and explains how he finally got traction. He argues the networking and programming worlds are merging into network programmability/SDN: automation that lets a Python script configure many devices at once (his example is 20 routers and switches) instead of working the CLI one device at a time, and that while Python is not yet required for a typical network-engineer job, learning it is how an engineer sets himself apart. His repeated failure mode was theory-first ‘hello world’ courses that burned him out within the first few videos, so he would quit and restart months later. The fix, borrowed from programmers’ advice to just start coding, was to automate a real task: in one day he got set up in GNS3 and used Python to program a router and a switch, doing in a script what he would normally do in the CLI. He credits David Bombal’s Udemy course Python for Network Engineers, which also teaches GNS3 and Cisco VIRL images, and announces a giveaway of ten copies of the course for subscribers of both channels who comment with the hashtag he names; he also points viewers at Udemy’s Black Friday pricing (around $10) and thanks his Patreon supporters by name and tier.

Key takeaways

Getting started is the hardest part: theory-first Python courses burned him out within the first few videos, repeatedly
Network programmability/SDN means using Python scripts to deploy configuration to many devices at once instead of one CLI session per device
His working method: start by automating a real CLI task - he was programming a router and a switch in GNS3 within one day
David Bombal’s Python for Network Engineers on Udemy is his recommended route; it teaches GNS3 setup with Cisco VIRL images
Python is framed as a differentiator for network engineers, not yet a requirement for the typical network-engineer job

Episode details: published November 23, 2017 · 11:16 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are NetworkChuck’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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