🔥 Unpopular Opinion: Learn Git BEFORE You Learn Programming

Khay Cherniavski

Oct 6 • Tips & Hints

I know this sounds backwards, but hear me out…

Most people do it like this:

1. Learn Python

2. Build some projects

3. Finally learn Git when they realize they need it

Here’s why that’s a mistake (especially for QA Automation):

What is Git anyway?

Git is a version control system - think of it like “track changes” for your code, but on steroids 💪

It lets you:

✅ Save different versions of your code

✅ Go back to previous versions if something breaks

✅ Collaborate with other developers

✅ Store your code safely in the cloud (GitHub)

Why learn it FIRST?

🎯 You’ll break your code. A LOT.

Here’s what happens to EVERY beginner learning Python:

Day 5: Your code works! 🎉

Day 6: You try to add a new feature

Day 6 (2 hours later): Nothing works anymore 😭

Day 7: Still broken. You don’t even remember what you changed.

Day 8: You’re rewriting everything from scratch…

Without Git, you have NO way to go back to when your code was working.

Beginners waste WEEKS, sometimes MONTHS trying to fix bugs they accidentally created - bugs they don’t even understand yet because they’re still learning.

Imagine spending 3 days debugging, only to realize you could’ve just reverted to yesterday’s working version in 5 seconds with Git.

That’s the reality without version control.

🎯 Git is your time machine

With Git, when you break something:

• git log - See all your previous working versions

• git checkout - Go back to any point in time

• Your working code is SAFE

You can experiment fearlessly because you can always undo.

This saves you LITERAL weeks of frustration during your learning journey.

🎯 Employers expect it

Every single QA Automation job will ask: “Do you know Git/GitHub?” It’s non-negotiable. Companies want to see your GitHub profile with your projects.

🎯 It’s easier than you think

Honestly, basic Git is simpler than Python. You only need like 5-7 commands to get started:

• git init

• git add

• git commit

• git push

• git pull

That’s it for beginners!

🎯 It builds good habits early

When you learn Git first, you naturally start organizing your code properly, writing commit messages, and thinking about your work systematically.

🎯 You’ll need it for CI/CD later

Remember that DevOps stuff we talked about? CI/CD pipelines are triggered by Git commits. Understanding Git early makes DevOps concepts way easier to grasp later.

The BETTER Learning Path:

✅ Week 1-2: Learn basic Git & GitHub

✅ Week 3+: Start learning Python (while using Git to save your work)

✅ Build your portfolio on GitHub from Day 1

Instead of:

❌ Learn Python for months

❌ Break your code constantly with no way to undo

❌ Waste days/weeks fixing problems you created

❌ Rewrite working code from scratch because you lost the original

❌ Try to learn Git later when you’re already overwhelmed

❌ Scramble to upload old projects to GitHub before job hunting

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