How Python transformed my career

Five years ago, I got really lucky. Having just spent the first decade of my career in passive financial analysis, I made the switch to change management consulting, ready to get my hands dirty on projects with tangible substance behind them. Over a delicious Wienerschnitzel lunch, a colleague told me that I had to learn Python. I was shocked — why on earth would a business consultant need to know how to program computers?

I soon found out why, when he later sent me some code he had written on the project. It automated the combination of ten different Excel sheets into a single sheet summary — something that needed to be done several times per week and would have been tedious and error-prone by hand. By automating the process with a Python script, this could be carried out in seconds rather than hours, and with 100% accuracy. Moreover, the Python code was far easier to create and interpret than the VBA scripts that I had occasionally used. I was sold.

As my Python knowledge has grown, I have found occasions to use Python on every project I worked on, regardless of my role. Whether in business analysis, software testing, migration, project management, whatever — Python just comes in handy. In some cases, this was just icing on the cake, but there have been a few in which I was really able to “save the day” using modest effort combined with a growing toolkit of useful functions.

On one occasion when I was responsible for some critical migration work, I not only used Python to get my own work done more effectively, but I was also in a position to help others on the team with theirs. In the end, I was granted access to the most sensitive Swiss bank data one can have — cleartext names and addresses of clients. The only reason that the bank trusted me with this data was that I was the only one in a position to generate, on short notice, the verification reports that were desperately needed. IT development cycles are simply far too long, whereas a competent guy with a little bit of Python knowledge can move mountains in practically no time at all.

Looking back, what amazes me most about this experience is the fact that it is so rare. Despite the fact that Python has become the number one programming language (in terms of breadth of use across disciplines), most business colleagues I meet have either (1) not heard of it at all, or (2) dismissed it as irrelevant to them. My experience proves the opposite: Python can be highly relevant to anyone who works with a computer on a regular basis. It puts the full power of the computer’s resources into your hands.

I know that some non-technical people find coding to be intimidating. As someone who had to learn C++ programming in college, I really get that. Back then, I remember struggling once to create a program with modest complexity — one compilation error after another, while pressed for time, led to frustration and ultimately, on that assignment, to failure.

Python isn’t like that, though. Sure, you can still make errors that have to be corrected, but the interpreter makes it relatively easy to find and correct your errors gracefully. And did I mention that you can do a whole lot with only a line or two of code? The same thing that would have required a dozen lines of C code can be done in Python with one or two. Additionally, Python puts thousands of powerful libraries at your fingertips, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel again and again. They are very well documented online, and supported by massive communities of people who have been where you are.

Even still, it would have been nice, starting out, to have a single, easy-to-read, example-driven guide and reference book geared toward business people. That’s why I wrote Business Python: an example-based guide, which is available on Amazon or as a PDF on business-python.com. If you struggle daily with Excel-based data analysis and conversions, or you see opportunity to automate repetitive tasks with email and office documents, you may want to check it out. It’s a lot easier than you think!