Why choose Talk Python Training?
You have many training choices both online and in-person. I want to thank you for considering Talk Python Training for your developer and Python education needs. Here is why I think what we have built over the past 5 years is special.
Very high-quality courses: Guaranteed
We all have limited time and energy to spend on developer training. Don't waste yours on ineffective or subpar courses. Our courses are very highly rated -- so much so that we confidently offer a 2-week, 100% money-back guarantee. Here are just a few quotes from current and past students:
"Can't recommend this highly enough to anyone who wants to learn to code or learn Python in particular. One of Michael's courses changed my career. I can't say enough good things about Talk Python training." - Chris
"This is easily one of the best online courses I’ve taken. I cannot recommend it enough." - Daniel P.
"Let me say that your courses are tremendous and I am a huge fan. I had tried a few different online learning platforms (EdX, DataCamp), so when I found your Python Jumpstart, I decided to finally give a paid course a try. Your courses strike an excellent balance between hand-holding and DIY, and they suit my learning style perfectly. [...] I'm a lifetime customer. Thank you for the great content, I appreciate the work you're doing." - Josh
"Are you kidding? By the end of the first coding example, I was checking out colorama which was hardly mentioned, if at all. Watching the getting the code from the GitHub lecture, I heard the best summary of branches ever. Those are not even core to the course!" - Kris
Goal / Project-based education
Our authors are professional trainers and developers with many years of experience. Our courses are focused on conveying that experience in a real-world and high-quality manner.
Most courses you find online and in-person, are organized around teaching you the facts of a topic. For Python, this means chapters that are entitled "Loops and conditional" and "Functions" and "File I/O" and so on. These are easy to write but do not teach people how to put them together. They are definitely not how real developers learn topics or go about their work.
Our courses are built around goals and tasks. Yes, we still cover loops, functions, everything else, but not in isolation. In our courses, you'll find chapters entitled "Adding behaviors to the wizard (class)", "Generators save the day", and "Improving win-tracking with dictionaries".
These students touch on the value of what we emphasize. Specifically, learning in context of a professional developer's workflow.
"I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to make your amazing training courses. I just got finished with the jump start by building 10 apps and it has been the best training course I've used by far. Most other courses or videos I've watched focus either on the concepts or just the application. None have put them together as seamlessly as you have. I feel like I have an actual understanding of Python now instead of just piecing things together that I find on stack overflow." - Gabe S.
"I'm absolutely loving the course. I learned so much, not just Python principles but your methodology with designing an app. Your lessons in PyCharm have really helped a ton too. I've bought so many books and online classes but nothing has brought it all together like you have, so a big thanks to you Michael!" - Jon
Right-sized courses
If your goal is to learn a quick concept in isolation, then a 45-minute "course" might work, as you'll find on many of our competitors' sites. But for most students, you need to spend time getting into concepts and writing some real-world code. That's why our average course length is around 7 hours. Everyone gets setup and motivated for a topic, then we write real code, in a real-world example. Yet, they are not so long that they require large blocks of time before meaningful progress is made.
Our unique view into the Python space: The podcasts
Michael Kennedy, the founder and one of the primary authors at Talk Python Training has used his unique perch from the Talk Python To Me podcast to keep his finger on the pulse of the Python ecosystem. Several times a week, Michael interviews the creators and leaders of the Python space, and in doing so, gains a modern and evolving perspective on what content is important to developers -- and therefore, students.
"Compared to some of the other online courses I’ve taken, I really like that I know I’m learning from someone well known in the community and I believe I’m not just learning how to code, but coding best practices." - Paul C.
No subscriptions
Do you have subscription fatigue? Most people do. When you buy training on a subscription, you are under constant pressure to keep consuming or waste that money month after month. If you are a business, it's an endless project to juggle who has an active subscription to what and determining whether they are still making good use of it.
With Talk Python Training, you don't get subscription fatigue because we don't sell subscriptions. You buy a course for nearly the same price as a month or two of a subscription, then you own it forever. You can pay about the same as a yearly subscription and gain permanent access to all of our courses in our library with our everything bundle program.
Compare us directly to our competitors (content and price)
We have a large library of Python courses. When shopping around, you might consider some of our direct competitors. Even though many of them have libraries of 1,000s of courses, when it comes to learning Python specifically, our library of content is very comparable or even larger than many of them. Let's put us side-by-side and compare.
Below are tables with LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda), Pluralsight, and Treehouse. All prices shown do not factor in bulk discount pricing.
LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com)
| LinkedIn Learning | Talk Python Training | |
| Amount of content | 100 courses, 220 hours | 33 courses, 215 hours |
| Focus | Scattered (Art, Business, Tech - including Python) | All Python |
| Ave. course length | Approx 1.5-2 hours | 7 hours |
| Subscription? | Yes: $30/mo | Nope! |
| Yearly Price | $240/yr, expires every year | $149-$299, never expires |
PluralSight
| PluralSight | Talk Python Training | |
| Amount of content | 11 courses, 31 hours | 33 courses, 215 hours |
| Focus | Somewhat scattered: mobile, .NET, JavaScript, Python, DevOps, etc. | All Python |
| Ave. course length | Approx 3 hours | 7 hours |
| Subscription? | Yes: $30-$37/mo | Nope! |
| Yearly Price | $299-$449/yr, expires every year | $149-$299, never expires |
Treehouse
| Treehouse | Talk Python Training | |
| Amount of content | 31 courses, 60 hours | 33 courses, 215 hours |
| Focus | Somewhat scattered: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, etc. | All Python |
| Ave. course length | 1h 45m | 7 hours |
| Subscription? | Yes: $25-$199/mo | Nope! |
| Yearly Price | $299-$2,388/yr, expires every year | $149-$299, never expires |
Mobile apps and offline videos
Learning should happen where you are on your device. If you're not at your desk, that best device just might be a tablet (iPad or Android). Moreover, video playback and auto-navigation leave a lot to be desired on mobile browsers, especially with the restrictions within iOS.
That's why we created our iOS and Android mobile apps.
These are completely free. They offer the best playback experience on mobile. And they allow students to download the videos for watching on the go or in limited network environments.
1440p / HiDPI video streams
We stream in the highest possible resolution. While this might not sound like a big deal, consider how you might feel trying to learn a new topic, follow along in a new tool or editor, and having to squint just to see the menus and code on your laptop or tablet? That's not fun at all. It can be tiring and make you want to stop learning after just a few minutes.
That's why we stream out videos at the proper resolution, with the ideal font sizes, and in Hi DPI mode. Here is a simple comparison you can try. Screenshots from two courses. One, a Kubernetes course on Udemy, the other, from Talk Python. Open these in a new tab and cycle back and forth. Which would you rather spend hours focusing on?
- Udemy video quality: Udemy course screenshot
- Talk Python video quality: Talk Python course screenshot
Pay special attention to not just the code in the editor but also the small menus around the edges. These screenshots were taken at the same resolution, on the same system, in the same web browser.
Live office hours
One of the challenges of self-paced online learning is if you get stuck, it can be hard to find help to get yourself unstuck.
That's why we offer live, online office hours. You drop in and join an instructor and a group of fellow students to chat about your course progress and see solutions via screen sharing.
Global Video Delivery Network
High-quality video is great, unless the server is on the other side of the globe. We serve our video out of a world-class CDN, with 114 PoPs (points of presence) on 6 continents, including Africa. The network has a total capcity 80 Tbps+ and the content is highly optimized for video streaming.
Here's a snapshot of our video server locations at the moment.
Reporting and accountability for corporate clients
In addition to all of these reasons to consider our courses for your company's needs, we also have specific programs and opportunities for our valued business customers. Please see our Talk Python for Businesses page for more details and to request a free pilot program.
You care about the environment
Most companies are only after their bottom line. At Talk Python, we have pledged to make our operations carbon neutral. Visit our environmental overview page to see what we are doing to offset our carbon footprint.
Thank you
These are just some of the reasons you should consider Talk Python Training. But don't take my word for it. Try it for yourself.
Our courses come with a 2-week, 100% money-back guarantee and cost about as much as a tech book. We think you'll love them. If you disagree, you'll get your money back.
Thank you!
Michael Kennedy
Founder, Talk Python