Professional pathway

From AI user to AI professional

An AI professional can define a problem, choose the simplest capable system, ground it in evidence, test failures, protect people and data, ship it, and explain the value. Tool familiarity alone is not the finish line.

7 complete free courses · 126 public lessons · no income or job guarantee

The sequence

Learn in four stages

Do not collect courses randomly. Finish each stage with evidence another person can review.

01

Control the model

Ready now

Learn context, source boundaries, structured briefs, examples, task decomposition, and review. The goal is repeatable work—not clever prompt tricks.

Proof before progress

A tested prompt package and a reusable assistant for one real task.

02

Build reliable AI systems

Ready now

Move beyond chat into APIs, JSON, tool contracts, data, multimodal inputs, retrieval, agents, evals, security, logs, and deployment.

Proof before progress

A deployed workflow with a README, test set, eval results, threat model, cost log, and demo.

03

Choose one applied specialty

Ready now

Depth wins. Choose the job, creator, video, or content lane that fits your existing strengths, then complete its real capstone before adding another lane.

Proof before progress

Two portfolio artifacts for the same audience or problem, each with sources and a QA checklist.

04

Run an ethical earning experiment

Prepared flagship

Package one useful outcome, validate demand, use written scope and payment milestones, deliver with human QA, and ask for consented proof or repeat work.

Proof before progress

An offer, portfolio sample, discovery notes, proposal, scope, delivery checklist, and 30-day activity review.

Professional core

Ten competencies—not ten tool logos

The current builder core reflects the disciplines in official API, retrieval, agent, evaluation, and safety guidance.

Problem framing and acceptance criteria

Source verification, research, and citation discipline

Prompt, context, and reusable instruction design

JSON, HTTP, APIs, structured outputs, and tool contracts

Spreadsheet, document, image, and audio workflows

Retrieval, grounded answers, permissions, and freshness

Agents, state, retries, idempotency, and human approval

Evals, red-team cases, logging, cost, and reliability

Privacy, security, consent, copyright, and disclosure

Portfolio proof, discovery, scope, delivery, and review

Earning paths

Choose how the skill creates value

Income is an outcome of useful work, proof, fit, timing, and execution. The curriculum teaches controllable steps—not a guaranteed number.

Employment

Proof to build

A role-specific evidence pack and a small workflow relevant to the target job.

First honest test

Apply selectively, practise interviews, and measure application quality—not a promised offer.

AI-assisted service

Proof to build

Two honest samples, a narrow offer, written scope, and a human-QA checklist.

First honest test

Validate the problem, propose a small paid pilot, and record delivery evidence.

Builder or automation work

Proof to build

A deployed workflow with tests, logs, permissions, cost notes, and a clear handoff.

First honest test

Solve one bounded workflow before proposing agents or a large automation stack.

Creator or digital product

Proof to build

A content or product sample tied to a real audience question and transparent claims.

First honest test

Publish a small experiment, review first-party evidence, and validate before expanding.

A realistic sprint

Your first 90 days

Adjust the pace for work, study, power, and connectivity. Completion quality matters more than a calendar promise.

Days 1–30

Foundation

Finish AI Fundamentals and Advanced Prompt Engineering. Save tested outputs, not screenshots of completion.

Days 31–60

Build

Complete Applied AI Builder and one specialty capstone. Publish two honest portfolio artifacts with limitations.

Days 61–90

Validate

Choose one earning lane. Run interviews, applications, audience tests, or a small paid-pilot proposal and review the evidence weekly.

Source desk

Built around current professional practice

Product interfaces change. The core course teaches transferable concepts and points current implementation details back to official documentation.

What this roadmap does not promise

It does not promise a salary, client, audience, certification equivalence, or a fixed completion time. It gives you sequenced practice, review criteria, and portfolio proof. Employers, clients, platforms, and markets make their own decisions.

Build an earning system