python · course & live cohorts
Learn Python by automating your own work.
A hands-on course for professionals who live in spreadsheets, reports, and repetitive tasks. No computer science degree, no prior programming. You'll leave able to automate the repetitive parts of your week and get real hours back.
automationspreadsheets-and-dataeditors-and-notebooks
from pathlib import Pathimport pandas as pdfiles = Path("sales").glob("*.xlsx")sheets = [pd.read_excel(file) for file in files]summary = pd.concat(sheets)summary.to_excel("weekly_summary.xlsx")
✓ combined 12 files · weekly_summary.xlsx is ready
what you'll learn
Practical Python, from the first session
Every concept is introduced through a workplace example, and every exercise ends with something that runs. You practice on realistic sample data, so nothing sensitive from work is ever required. Enrollment is planned to open in fall 2026. Exact cohort dates and the final lesson sequence are still being finalized. The waitlist hears first.
- Programming fundamentals: variables, conditionals, loops, and functions taught through workplace examples, not abstract math.
- Files, spreadsheets, and data: read, clean, and combine the files you already work with every day.
- Automating repetitive tasks: turn an hour of clicking into a script you run in seconds.
- Reading and debugging code: understand what a program does, question it, and fix it when it breaks.
- Tools for writing Python: what browser-based notebooks and code editors are each for, plus when an AI assistant can help and when to check its work.
- Habits that last: clear naming, small steps, checking your work, so your scripts stay useful.
You'll leave able to automate the recurring, manual work that fills your week: combining reports, catching bad data in spreadsheets, organizing files, and spotting what changed between exports.
who it's for
Built for first-time programmers
A good fit if you…
- Spend your days in Excel, reports, or repetitive digital tasks
- Have been curious about programming but never had a way in
- Want skills you can use at work, not academic theory
Probably not for you if you…
- Already write software for a living
- Are looking for computer science theory or interview prep
- Want to build large applications right away: this course starts with your daily work
What you need: A computer, an internet connection, and a modern web browser. Most exercises run in browser-based Jupyter notebooks, so you do not need to install anything to begin. All required software is free, and no cloud account is needed. An optional module shows you how to install and run Python locally.
Already an engineer? The Terraform course is the one built for you.
live cohorts
Self-paced when you want it. Live when it helps.
Cohorts are live, remote, and kept small: around 25 learners. You get structure, momentum, and a real person answering your real questions: the things that are hardest to get from a video library.
- Instructor-led sessions: live and remote, not pre-recorded.
- Hands-on exercises: you write the code during class, not after.
- Structured progression: each week builds on the last.
- Live questions: get unstuck in minutes, not days.
- Practical projects: finish with work you can point to.
- Feedback and peers: direct guidance, and classmates solving the same problems.
teaching approach
How the teaching works
Practical over theoretical
Concepts are introduced when you need them to build something, not as a syllabus to memorize.
Learn by building
Every exercise ends with something that runs. Small wins compound into working software.
Real-world practices
The habits taught (testing, review, incremental change) are the ones used on production teams.
Skills that transfer
Exercises mirror actual work: messy inputs, changing requirements, and code someone else has to read.
instructor
About David Stanek
David Stanek is a software engineer and educator with nearly three decades of professional experience. As a Principal Cloud Software Engineer at HPE, he works with the technologies and practices that power modern organizations.
Python has been David's primary programming language for more than two decades. Since 2019, he has taught Python at Case Western Reserve University, where many of his students come from business and other nontechnical backgrounds.
That combination of long-term professional use and beginner-focused teaching shapes this course. David emphasizes practical application, problem-solving, and confidence, helping learners write useful programs without treating them as aspiring software engineers.
expertise: software engineering · cloud · automation · ai · teaching
pricing
Two ways to take it
Learn Python your way. Work through the material on your own, or join a live cohort of around 25 learners for instruction and feedback on your actual work. The practical, automate-your-own-work approach is the same either way.
self-paced
$99, regularly $199
launch price
- The complete course, yours to work through on your own schedule.
- Plan for about 25 hours of lessons, guided exercises, and projects. Take more time whenever you need it.
- Access to every lesson and example for as long as Learn, Fast continues to offer the course.
- Once enrolled, start whenever you like and learn at your own pace.
- A private Discord community where David generally responds to questions within one business day.
refund Full refund before you reach the 4th module.
live cohort
$1,299, regularly $1,999
launch price
Everything in self-paced, plus:
- 35 hours of live instruction in a small cohort of around 25 learners.
- Pick your schedule: once a week for 14 weeks, twice a week for 7 weeks, or four full Saturdays.
- Live Q&A and feedback on your own work as you go.
- Learn alongside your cohort in the private Discord community.
- Miss a session? Every one is recorded and available to your cohort for 30 days afterward.
- Keep access to the self-paced materials for as long as Learn, Fast continues to offer the course.
refund Full refund if it's not for you: before week 4 of the 14-week schedule, before week 3 of the 7-week, or before the 2nd Saturday of the four-Saturday intensive.
Launch pricing applies to the first enrollment window; the regular price takes effect after that. Cohort dates are announced to the waitlist first. Join the waitlist to hear when enrollment opens. Taking it with your team? Groups of five or more get 20% off every seat. Get in touch for a quote. Many employers cover professional development: you will get an itemized receipt and a course outline to share with your manager.
waitlist
Be first to hear when Python enrollment opens
Join the waitlist and you'll get course announcements, cohort dates, and early enrollment access for the Python course. Nothing else, and you can unsubscribe any time. Joining costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Not ready to sign up? Ask a question first.
Same audience, different superpower: the Agentic AI course teaches you to put AI to work in your workflows, also no programming required.