First BP, confused about thermostats

[Homebody]

Im a bit wary of UTH because I've heard it more easily burns the snake On the other hand I've seen people say it wont heat properly through a PVC enclosure + substrate...

Its honestly been so confusing to research the topic of BP husbandry, there's a lot of contradictory info online. I've seen setups like the ones you described, others with 2 overhead heaters, UVB, no UVB, etc, I never feel like I'm ready

For ball pythons, a UTH, regulated by a thermostat, is safe. I've used UTHs for three years without incident. You are correct, however, that a UTH will struggle to heat through pvc and substrate. It'll heat through the pvc just fine, but, not a through a thick layer of substrate. The answer is to thin, or remove entirely, the substrate that's over the UTH.