Welcome to the Essentials track. This is the foundation of the Flocode curriculum and the starting point for engineers who want to put Python to work in the real world.
If you're completely new to Python for Engineering, you can also check out the Introductory Course on Youtube which provides a higher level overview of the topic.
If you find this material valuable, consider sharing it with your team or supporting the work through the Flocode Newsletter. The more engineers we help, the better our industry becomes.
- 01 - Housekeeping
- 02 - Python the Language
- 03 - Your Engineering System
- 04 - Jupyter Notebooks 101
- 05 - Basic Syntax
- 06 - Data Structures
- 07 - Control Flow
- 08 - Functions
This course teaches Python fundamentals for engineering work. You'll learn how to automate calculations, handle data, and build reliable workflows - practical skills that help you move beyond spreadsheets and solve real engineering problems.
What you will learn:
- Python fundamentals - syntax, variables, data types, control flow, and functions.
- Engineering-centric applications - how Python supports structural calculations, reporting, and automation.
- Tools of the trade - practical workflows with uv, VS Code, and Jupyter notebooks.
- A repeatable process - how to decompose messy problems into code-sized building blocks.
- Be patient with the basics. A solid foundation makes the advanced topics straightforward.
- Set aside 2-4 hours per week and guard the time. Consistency beats intensity.
- Type the examples out. Break them, fix them, and tweak them. Muscle memory matters.
- Build small personal projects. Automate a report, study a dataset, or tidy a workflow at work.
- Swap notes with other engineers. Share questions and lessons learned, the collaboration pays off more than you expect.
- Read the docs. Python's documentation (and most libraries you will touch) is excellent. Make it a habit.
This roadmap reflects my own path learning Python. Each node represents a deep topic, multiple careers span any single one of these areas. You don't need to become an expert in every node to use Python effectively. The goal is gradual understanding of the landscape, which gives you freedom and control whether you're scripting simple tasks, automating workflows, or building enterprise-level tools.
Treat it as a map, not a checklist.
Coding feels awkward and confusing at the beginning. That friction is normal. Focus on steady effort, keep notes on what you try, and expect plateaus as well as breakthroughs. You may feel overwhelmed at the scope of the terminology and systems, that's also normal.
Mastery comes from repeatedly breaking problems down, testing ideas, and tightening the loop between thinking, writing code, and reviewing the results.
"Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to improvement. If you can't measure something, you can't understand it. If you can't understand it, you can't control it. If you can't control it, you can't improve it." - H. James Harrington
There are no formal prerequisites. If you are brand new to programming, the free Flocode Intro is a quick primer, but you can jump straight in here.
These references stay public and stable:
- Flocode Python Starter Kit
- Python Libraries for Engineers
- Create Notebook Project
- Flocode Prompt Library
- Python.org Downloads
- uv documentation
- Visual Studio Code
- Project Jupyter
- PyPI package index
- NumPy documentation
- Pandas documentation
- Matplotlib documentation
- SciPy documentation
- GitHub Guides
Once you finish the modules, pull everything together:
- Open the notebooks in
/examplesand reproduce the calculations on your own. - Turn one of the routines into a small script that reads a text file, performs a check, and writes a short report.
- Drop the script into version control so you can iterate in the intermediate course.
It does not need to be fancy, the goal is to ship something end to end, just like you will on the next project at work.
This course is designed to cover the bare essentials, the minimum viable foundation for using Python effectively in engineering work. If you believe there's essential content missing from this track, I want to hear about it.
Open a discussion or submit an issue with your suggestion. Explain what's missing, why it matters for the essentials, and how it fits into the learning path from complete beginner to productive engineer. Keep in mind that the Intermediate course will cover more advanced Python usage, object-oriented programming, working with libraries, performance optimization, and domain-specific applications. This Essentials track is intentionally minimal. The goal is to get engineers writing useful code quickly, not to be comprehensive.
If you're unsure whether a topic belongs in Essentials or Intermediate, suggest it anyway. The worst outcome is that we have a conversation about where it fits. Engineers around the world are using this material. Your feedback makes it better for everyone who comes after you.
You do not need to memorise Python. You need to learn how to think with it. Treat every module as a set of tools you can mix and match. Remember this is the long game, take it easy and be consistent.
See you on the inside.
James 🌊
