Python was the most-popular programming language in 2023, according to the PYPL Index as well as the Tiobe Index. Not bad, huh?
It’s no surprise then, that this programming language is highly sought-after in the field of data analytics. It’s easy to learn, and has a wide range of applications—ideal if you want to upskill fast.
With training programs catering to different budgets and experience levels, it can be hard to know where to begin.
In this post, we’ll save you some work by summarizing a handful of popular Python bootcamps. This’ll give you a taster of what’s available, leaving you armed with all the information you need to find a course that’s right for you.
If you’re not sure whether getting into this area is for you yet, try this free data short course on for size.
Want to skip ahead to certain section? Just use this clickable menu:
- What is Python
- Nine of the best Python bootcamps in 2024
- CareerFoundry Intro to Data Analytics Program
- CareerFoundry Data Analytics Program
- Thinkful Data Analytics Bootcamp
- Spiced Academy Data Science Bootcamp
- Dataquest Introduction to Python
- BrainStation Python Programming Course
- Udemy Python for Data Science Machine Learning Bootcamp
- General Assembly Python Course
- Giraffe Academy Full Python Course for Beginners
- Why should you learn Python?
- What’s next?
- Python bootcamps FAQ
With that, let’s begin!
1. What is Python?
So, what is Python, anyway?
Python is a computer programming language. Like other computer programming languages, Python is used to create algorithms—or sets of instructions—that are then read and actioned by a computer.
Known for its simplicity and versatility of its code, Python has found itself in a wide range of applications, ranging from web development and data analytics to machine learning, and more. You’ll find some fascinating real-world examples of Python in action here.
Learn more in our full guide to what Python is.
2. Nine of the best Python bootcamps in 2024
Now that you know what it is, you might want to consider learning it. Here’s our selection of the best Python bootcamps out there, based on extensive market research.
1. CareerFoundry Intro to Data Analytics Program
- Mode of study: Online
- Duration: 1 month (15 hours per week)
- Price: $690 USD
- Ideal for: Beginners and career-changers
- USP: Excellent mentorship and great value for money
CareerFoundry’s Intro to Data Analytics Program offers a comprehensive introduction to data analytics, including Python. Produced by a team of top experts in the field, the course offers all the theory and skills you need to kick-start your new career.
Study is at your own pace online but you’ll have access to a real-life tutor, as well as a mentor, to support you through the trickier concepts. Given the depth of learning and real-world support, this is one of the better value for money programs available on the market. Plus, once you’ve completed the Intro to Data Analytics course, you can dive deeper with CareerFoundry’s comprehensive eight-month Data Analytics Program, which is next on our list.
Learn more:
2. CareerFoundry Data Analytics Program
- Mode of study: Online
- Duration: 8 months (15 hours per week)
- Price: $7,505 USD
- Ideal for: Beginners and career-changers
- USP: Excellent mentorship and a job guarantee
While the CareerFoundry Intro to Data Analytics allows you to dip your toe into the world of Python and its usage in the field of data analytics, the full program will make sure you’re ready to turn your newfound skills into a career.
Undoubtedly one of the most comprehensive offerings on the market, the CareerFoundry program has been designed to take you from complete beginner to job-ready data analyst. The program is offered entirely online, and you can work to your own schedule—as long as you stick to certain milestones within the overall 8-month duration.
The major selling points of this particular program are the dual mentorship model and the job guarantee; each student is paired with a personal tutor and a one-to-one mentor, and the job guarantee ensures that if you don’t get a job within six months of graduating, you’ll get a full refund.
CareerFoundry’s offering comes in at $7,505 for the entire program, but the cost of the tuition is dependent on your location and is competitively priced. A range of flexible payment options include paying upfront, or getting a small course discount. Contact one of their program advisors to find out your local pricing and if there are any partial scholarships available.
CareerFoundry also offers a free, 5-day data analytics short course—ideal for a hands-on introduction before you commit to the full course.
Learn more:
3. Thinkful Data Analytics Bootcamp
- Mode of study: Online
- Duration: 6 months (25-30 hours per week) or 4 months (50 hrs per week)
- Price: $8,240 – $13,475 USD
- Ideal for: Those seeking a comprehensive introduction to data analytics
- USP: Money-back guarantee
Unlike courses which dive straight in with practical skills, Thinkful’s Data Analytics Flex course first offers a more generalized (but wide-ranging) introduction to data analytics.
You’ll start by meeting your tutor and peers online, learning best practice in collaboration (a useful skill for the course, and also for employment afterward). You’ll then move onto the basics of Excel spreadsheets, and learn how to visualize data using PowerPoint. Finally, you’ll get to the practical Python skills.
This course’s solid foundation means it’s a little longer and quite a bit pricier than some on the market, but you’ll certainly come away knowing your stuff. Suited to those with a bigger budget in mind, you’ll receive one-on-one mentorship, peer support, and a money-back guarantee if you don’t have a job within six months of graduating.
Learn more:
4. Spiced Academy Data Science Bootcamp
- Mode of study: A combination of online and on-site in Berlin, Hamburg or Cologne
- Duration: 12 weeks
- Price: €9,800 (approx. $10,700 USD)
- Ideal for: Beginners who prefer learning in person
- USP: Extensively career-focused, including interview practice
Not so keen to learn online? The Spiced Academy Data Science Bootcamp, or one like it, could be for you. It’s one of the many data bootcamps available in Berlin.
Unlike providers who offer a huge range of programs, Spiced Academy runs just two focused bootcamps: data analytics and web development.
The course starts with an online assessment to ensure you’ve got the pre-requisite skills, before moving to the classroom. There, you’ll learn how to use Python to collect, analyze, and visualize data. You’ll also explore the Pandas and NumPy data analytics libraries, machine learning, data infrastructure, and SQL databases.
Being based on-site, this bootcamp heavily emphasizes real-world expertise. It includes interview coaching sessions and personal support to help you through the upheaval of career change. While it’s on the pricier end of the scale, it’s a good option for those who prefer highly personal, face-to-face training.
Learn more:
5. Dataquest Introduction to Python
- Mode of study: Online
- Duration: 3 hours
- Price: $29 USD per month
- Ideal for: Cash-strapped beginners
- USP: Short and sweet
A course with few frills, Dataquest’s Introduction to Python course is one of the more affordable options.
Nevertheless, the program aims to get you coding from the get-go. After covering general best practice in Python programming, you’ll be thrown in at the deep end, learning the basics of syntax, lists, loops, and all the other programming concepts you need. You’ll also play around with complementary software, including Jupyter Notebook, a popular data analytics project collaboration tool. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to manipulate data sets for analysis and be ready to create your own portfolio project.
Dataquest also offers dozens of follow-up courses, allowing you to specialize your newly acquired data analytics skills in almost any area of your choosing.
Learn more:
- Browse Dataquest’s other data courses
- Student stories
- Get your questions answered by the Dataquest community
6. BrainStation Python Programming Course
- Mode of study: Online, or on-site in New York, Toronto and Vancouver
- Duration: 10 weeks (part-time)
- Price: $2,950 USD
- Ideal for: Those seeking the freedom of online learning, but with live classes
- USP: BrainStation accepts a variety of scholarships
BrainStation’s Python Programming Course is taught online by live instructors—a great option if you want the freedom of online learning with the personal touch of face-to-face training. Building your knowledge from the ground up, the course is geared specifically towards beginners without prior experience.
Only once you’ve mastered the essential concepts in object-oriented programming will you explore Python and data analytics in more detail. By the end of the course, you’ll know how to work with data manipulation and visualization libraries, including Pandas, NumPy, and Matplotlib. BrainStation also offers flexible payment plans and a variety of different scholarship options.
include a specialist employer package, and a women’s scholarship aimed at reducing barriers to women working in the digital economy, as well as a diversity and inclusion scholarship.
Learn more:
7. Udemy Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp
- Mode of study: Online
- Duration: 25 hours
- Price: €94.99 (Approx. $94 USD)
- Ideal for: Beginners looking for a straightforward crash course
- USP: Won’t break the budget
As an off-the-shelf course, Udemy’s Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp is not as interactive as some. However, it’s perfect for budget-conscious beginners who want to learn fast. Offering 165 lectures across 25 hours of video tutorials, you’ll receive high-level instruction in Python for data analytics.
It is quite a lot shorter than other courses, so you shouldn’t expect to come away with in-depth skills. However, the program is surprisingly comprehensive, and offers a solid foundation to build upon. You’ll learn about data science at a high level, including machine learning, neural networks, and natural language processing.
The course also focuses on the broader Python ecosystem, introducing data analytics libraries like NumPy, Pandas, Seaborn, Matplotlib, TensorFlow, and more. While the course may not be as comprehensive as some, given the price point, it offers a good all-round introduction.
Learn more:
8. General Assembly Python Course
- Mode of study: Online
- Duration: 10 weeks (part-time)
- Price: $4,500 USD
- Ideal for: Beginners seeking a broader introduction to Python
- USP: An accelerated week-long intensive course is available
Completely new to programming? Then you might prefer a more general introduction to Python and its applications.
The General Assembly Python Course starts with object-oriented programming concepts, and gets you coding from day one. It explores introductory data science, as well as Python’s web applications. With this in mind, you’ll learn how to build your own web app that pulls in third-party data using the Pandas library. When you’re done, you’ll have a solid working knowledge of Python, giving you the option to specialize further.
All training takes place online, although if you have a campus nearby you can also study on-site. Employer scholarships help justify the higher price, as well as personalized instructor feedback. And if ten weeks sounds too long, you can condense this course into an intensive week-long bootcamp… buckle up!
Learn more:
9. Giraffe Academy Full Python Course for Beginners
- Mode of study: Online
- Duration: 4 hours
- Price: Free
- Ideal for: Beginners looking for a quick introduction to Python concepts
- USP: Available on YouTube
Okay, so this one isn’t really a Python data bootcamp, but in the spirit of open-source, it only feels right to share some free training!
If you’re clueless about coding and shy about splashing the cash, this course is a safe place to start. A compilation of videos by Giraffe Academy (aka YouTuber Mike Dane, a coder from the U.S.) this four-hour video offers a step-by-step tutorial to Python’s basic features.
You’ll definitely have to progress onto another (probably fee-based) course to specialize in data analytics, but this is a good ‘quick and dirty’ crash course if you’re a complete beginner.
Learn more:
3. Why should you learn Python?
If you’re new to the world of computer programming languages, Python is a great language to start off learning.
It’s known for being a general-purpose language, as well as for its simplicity and intuitive syntax, which make it great for beginners. The skills you’ll gain while learning Python will be transferable to other, more complex, programming languages, should you choose to go down that path.
In addition to being great for new learners, Python has a vast, active online community, which is a great resource for sharing code, troubleshooting, and working to evolve the programming language.
If you’re interested in becoming a data analyst, it’s essential to learn Python, as many of its applications lie in the field of data analytics. It’s a vital tool in the data analytics process, as it can be utilized all the way from the data cleaning stage right through to data visualization.
4. Next steps
So, we’ve given you a flavor of what’s available. As you can see, the variety of different Python data bootcamps is surprisingly broad. The next question to ask yourself is: which kind of course is right for you? Online, or on-site? Big budget, or tight purse?
Before making any firm decisions, we highly recommend doing some more research. Read some student testimonials and check out some online reviews. And, of course, be sure to explore each course’s individual curriculum to make sure it covers everything you want to learn.
You may also be interested to know what your earning potential might be once you’ve mastered Python; if so, check out this Python developer salary guide. Beyond that, good luck… and happy programming!
Want to learn more about Python? Check out some of our previous posts:
- What is Python? A guide to the fastest-growing computer programming language
- What is Python used for?
- How can I learn Python?
5. Python bootcamps FAQ
Are Python bootcamps worth it?
The answer to that will depend on what you want to eventually use Python for! Python has many applications that are vital to many roles in tech, all with varying levels of Python knowledge required. Enrolling in a Python bootcamp will give you a good overview of the programming language and give you a good base to work upon in future roles in the tech field.
What is the best Python bootcamp?
The short answer is: it depends! What are your current personal circumstances? What are your future career goals? What’s your current budget? By answering those questions and conducting your own research (such as reading this article!) you’ll be able to narrow down the list to a Python bootcamp that suits your needs best.
How much is a Python coding bootcamp?
The cost of a Python bootcamp ranges from free to hundreds of dollars, up to thousands. There are free options available, but bear in mind that these won’t provide as comprehensive an education as paid programs. For a more flexible investment, there are subscription-based models which will allow you to delve into the basics of Python.
There are also more intensive bootcamp models that will be more costly, usually costing up to thousands of dollars. However, with the higher price point, you’ll usually receive a more in-depth curriculum, as well as one-on-one support.
Some bootcamp academies even offer the option of in-person learning! While there’s a higher price tag attached to these courses, many providers will offer the option of paying for the course in instalments, taking out a loan, or receiving a scholarship. These payment and scholarship options will depend on the institution, as well as other qualifying factors, so make sure to speak to an advisor to learn exactly what your options are.
How long does a Python bootcamp take to complete?
This depends on the depth and pace of your chosen Python bootcamp. As listed, the Giraffe Academy’s Python course on YouTube will have you learning the basics of Python in as little as four hours.
The longest listed, the CareerFoundry Data Analytics Program, will take up to eight months—but with that, you’ll be learning about the scope of data analytics, not just Python, as well as receiving dedicated mentorship from industry professionals, and job-searching assistance once you’ve completed the program.