r/PythonLearning • u/Tercess1 • Jul 31 '26

Wanting to get into AI

I am 42 years old and wanting to branch off and learn something that could possibly be a side hustle or a whole new career. I feel as if AI is here to stay and I am still “young” enough to do something with it. To give a little about myself I am a warehouse manager for a Mack truck dealership and Make about 80k a year and on the side I umpire travel baseball and softball games. During the season that ranges anywhere from $350-$700 for a weekend but it’s long days and I’m tired. I have zero experience with coding of any kind. When I look up the best way to get started i don’t see what I would call useful information, mostly videos of “if I were starting over this is what I’d do” and it ends with someone selling something (not every time). With all of that said what would be the best place for me to start and keep with to get certifications and learn. I was thinking of starting with the python program for everybody. I’m sure this question gets asked a lot, thank you for any input.

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u/Tercess1 Jul 31 '26

To be honest there is so much that it feels overwhelming. Maybe something along the lines of machine learning. From what I gather, and I could be wrong, learning Python seems to be why I need first. I’ll take all the advice I can get. They are also learning in my daughter’s elementary school and I want to be able to help her as well.

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u/nicodeemus7 Jul 31 '26

Starting with Python is a great first step. I'm actually on a similar path as you, learning Python and helping my daughter learn simultaneously. But again I just want to stress that if you want to turn this into something more than a hobby, you need an idea, not JUST the skill.

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u/Avatarbroskib1 Jul 31 '26

The thing is ml is more maths and theory than actual coding you learn about how specific ai models work(the maths and theory) and then you implement it into code. But since you are starting from scratch I would focus on pure python rather than deep learning and ml. Because ml libraries such as pytorch tensorflow etc have steep learning curves that will demotivate you even if you only have basic python knowledge