Month 1 Fast-Track: Python Foundations for AI —
Zero■to■Portfolio Plan
Built for intense learners • Generated on August 29, 2025
Overview & Goals
Goal for Month 1
- Get dangerous with Python fast (problem-solving + data + APIs).
- Ship 2–3 small real apps to a public portfolio.
- Earn quick-win badges/certifications that signal ability.
- Set up a repeatable system for learning + shipping every week.
Time budget (suggested): 3–5 hours/day (can compress or stretch).
What you’ll have at the end of Month 1
- Solid Python fundamentals, Git/GitHub workflow, and comfort in VS Code.
- Two deployable portfolio projects (CLI + web app) with READMEs and screenshots.
- A clean GitHub profile, LinkedIn refresh, and a starter audience.
- At least one verification (HackerRank Python (Basic) or Kaggle Micro-course).
Software to Install
Install these (Day 0 setup)
1) Python (3.11+): [Link]
2) VS Code: [Link]
- Extensions: Python, Pylance, Jupyter, GitLens, Black Formatter
3) Git: [Link]
- GitHub account: [Link]
- Optional: GitHub Desktop: [Link]
4) (Optional) Anaconda/Miniconda for environments: [Link]
5) Jupyter (if not using Conda): `pip install jupyter`
6) Browsers: Chrome or Edge (DevTools familiarity for scraping/API debugging).
Month 1 Curriculum
High-level curriculum for Month 1
Week 1 — Python Core + Tooling
- Syntax, variables, control flow, functions, modules
- Lists, tuples, dicts, sets
- VS Code, terminal, Git, GitHub fundamentals
- Jupyter notebooks
Week 2 — Problem-Solving + Testing + OOP
- Problem patterns (strings, lists, dicts)
- File I/O, exceptions
- Unit tests with pytest; virtualenvs; packaging basics
- Intro to OOP (classes, methods, dataclasses)
Week 3 — Data + Web + APIs
- JSON and REST with requests
- Web scraping with BeautifulSoup (ethics & [Link])
- Pandas essentials (Series, DataFrame, read_csv, groupby)
- Plotting with matplotlib
Week 4 — Shipping Apps + Portfolio
- Build 2 apps: a CLI + a Streamlit dashboard
- Publish on GitHub + Streamlit Community Cloud
- Profile polish: GitHub, LinkedIn, README screenshots
- Quick-win certifications (HackerRank/Kaggle)
A■List Resources
Top resources (official docs & elite free courses)
Python & CS Foundations
- Python docs: [Link]
- freeCodeCamp Python full course (YouTube): [Link]
- CS50P (Harvard) Python playlist:
[Link]
- Automate the Boring Stuff (free book online): [Link]
Math (for later weeks; start light now)
- 3Blue1Brown – Essence of Linear Algebra:
[Link]
- Khan Academy – Stats & Probability: [Link]
Data & Libraries
- NumPy docs: [Link]
- pandas docs: [Link]
- matplotlib docs: [Link]
- scikit■learn docs (peek ahead): [Link]
APIs & App Frameworks
- requests docs: [Link]
- Beautiful Soup docs: [Link]
- FastAPI docs: [Link]
- Streamlit docs: [Link]
Deploy & Portfolio
- Streamlit Community Cloud: [Link]
- GitHub Pages: [Link]
- GitHub Flow (how to work): [Link]
Certifications (quick wins in Month 1)
- HackerRank Python (Basic): [Link]
- Kaggle Micro-courses (Python): [Link]
Next-level (Month 2+ Preview)
- Andrew Ng — Machine Learning Specialization:
[Link]
- Hugging Face NLP course: [Link]
Portfolio Projects
Portfolio Projects to Ship in Month 1
P1 — WeatherCLI (2–3 days)
- Goal: Learn HTTP APIs, JSON parsing, packaging into a CLI.
- Stack: Python, requests, argparse, dotenv.
- API: OpenWeatherMap (free tier). Docs: [Link]
- Features: `weather --city "Mumbai"` returns temp, humidity, condition emojis; optional 5■day forecast.
- Extras: Handle errors (invalid city), add units flag, colorized output.
- Deliverables: Code + README with screenshots + usage examples.
P2 — Movie Explorer App (3–4 days)
- Goal: Build your first interactive web app and deploy it.
- Stack: Python, Streamlit, requests, pandas.
- API: TMDB. Docs: [Link]
- Features: Search movies, show posters/ratings, simple watchlist (local CSV).
- Deployment: Streamlit Community Cloud (one■click from GitHub).
- Deliverables: Live app URL + GitHub repo; add a short Loom-style demo video if possible.
Stretch (optional if time permits)
- P3 — FastAPI microservice: expose `/predict` that echoes simple rules (no ML yet), deploy locally. Focus
on structured project layout & docs.
Day■by■Day Plan
Day■by■Day Plan (30 days)
WEEK 1 — Python Core + Tooling
D1: Install software; set up VS Code, Git; create GitHub account. Push a “hello-python” repo.
D2: Python basics I — variables, types, input/output, f-strings, conditionals, loops.
Practice: 10 HackerRank easy problems.
D3: Python basics II — functions, scope, modules, `venv`, pip; Jupyter intro.
Mini■proj: Build a simple calculator CLI.
D4: Data structures — lists, tuples, dicts, sets; comprehension patterns; slicing.
Practice: 8–10 list/dict exercises.
D5: Strings & regex basics; file I/O; JSON read/write.
Mini■proj: Log parser — read a file, compute stats, write CSV.
D6: Git workflow — branches, commits, PRs; README anatomy; Markdown basics.
Ship: Polish and push your two mini■projects with READMEs.
D7: Review + catch■up + reflection; write a short devlog on LinkedIn with what you learned.
WEEK 2 — Problem-Solving + Testing + OOP
D8: Exceptions, error handling, type hints; `mypy` intro.
D9: Unit testing with `pytest`; structure tests; TDD tiny kata.
D10: OOP I — classes, methods, `__init__`, `__repr__`, properties.
D11: OOP II — inheritance vs composition; `dataclasses`.
D12: Packaging basics — `[Link]`, `pipx`/editable installs; CLI via `argparse`/`typer`.
D13: API fundamentals — HTTP verbs, status codes; `requests`; consuming public JSON APIs.
Mini■proj: Currency converter using an open API.
D14: Review; post small write■up (“What surprised me in OOP/testing”).
WEEK 3 — Data + Web + APIs
D15: HTML/DOM basics; scraping ethics; [Link]; BeautifulSoup selectors.
D16: Scrape a table/list into CSV; deduplicate/clean.
D17: Pandas I — Series/DataFrame, read_csv, describe, filtering.
D18: Pandas II — groupby, merge, pivot; saving to CSV/JSON/Parquet.
D19: Plotting — matplotlib quick charts; export PNGs.
D20: API project prep — pick WeatherCLI or Movie Explorer; outline features.
D21: Build Day 1 — core features done; push WIP to GitHub (build in public).
WEEK 4 — Shipping Apps + Portfolio
D22: Build Day 2 — polish, error handling, README, screenshots.
D23: Deploy Streamlit app to Community Cloud; set secrets (API keys); test.
D24: Add small analytics (e.g., save simple usage stats file) + bug fixes.
D25: Create a strong GitHub profile README + pin projects; add topics/tags.
D26: LinkedIn refresh — headline, About, add projects; post demo video/GIF.
D27: Quick■win certification — HackerRank Python (Basic) or Kaggle Python.
D28: Write a Medium/Hashnode blog: “Built a Movie Explorer in 48 hours — stack & mistakes.”
D29: Add a personal homepage (GitHub Pages) linking to projects and blog.
D30: Retrospective + next■month plan (Data + ML foundations ramp).
Profile & Networking Playbook
Profile & Networking Playbook
GitHub
- Keep repos tidy: clear README, /screenshots, /data, MIT license, issues/todos.
- Use branches/PRs even on solo projects for professionalism.
- Pin 3 best projects; add short descriptions + tags.
LinkedIn
- Headline formula: “Building data apps in Python | Streamlit • FastAPI • APIs | Open to
internships/remote”
- About section: 4–6 lines with quantifiable outcomes (“shipped 3 apps in 4 weeks”, “100+ users tried
Movie Explorer”).
Show, don’t tell
- Post 2x/week: demo GIF, tiny learning, or metric.
- Comment usefully on others’ posts (1–2/day).
Where to hang out (beginner■friendly)
- Streamlit Forum: [Link]
- r/learnpython: [Link]
- FastAPI Discussions: [Link]
Quality Checklists
Quality Checklists
Project README (minimum)
- One■liner value prop + screenshot
- Features bullets + demo GIF
- Quickstart (install, run) + .env example
- Roadmap / Known issues
- License + credits
Code Health
- `ruff` or `flake8` lint clean; `black` formatted
- Type hints in public functions
- At least 3–5 pytest tests passing
Portfolio Signal Boosters
- Live demo link
- Short Loom walkthrough
- One paragraph “What I learned / tradeoffs”
Appendix — Handy Snippets
Appendix — Handy snippets
Create and activate venv
- macOS/Linux: `python3 -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate`
- Windows: `py -m venv .venv && .venv\Scripts\activate`
Install common tools
- `pip install requests python-dotenv pandas beautifulsoup4 matplotlib streamlit pytest black ruff`
Run Streamlit
- `streamlit run [Link]`
Deploy Streamlit Community Cloud
- Push to GitHub → go to [Link] → Connect repo → Deploy.
