df['myvar'] = df['myvar'].astype(str) # Transform as character
df['myvar'] = df['myvar'].astype(float) # Transform as float
df['myvar'] = df['myvar'].astype(int) # Transform as numeric
>>> s = pd.Series(["8", 6, "7.5", 3, "0.9"]) # mixed string and numeric values
>>> s
0 8
1 6
2 7.5
3 3
4 0.9
dtype: object
>>> pd.to_numeric(s) # convert everything to float values
0 8.0
1 6.0
2 7.5
3 3.0
4 0.9
dtype: float64