AI Engineer Learning Path
Your complete roadmap from beginner to senior AI engineer. Map existing courses, identify gaps, and discover job opportunities at each stage of your journey.
Created by Baljeet Dogra
Learning Path Overview
A structured progression from absolute beginner to senior AI engineer, mapped to real industry job roles.
Foundation Level
Build programming and data fundamentals
Skills You'll Learn
- Python programming fundamentals
- Data structures and algorithms
- Basic mathematics (linear algebra, statistics)
- Version control (Git)
- Command line and development environment
Available Courses
Python in Seven Days
7 days • Conversion for seniors who already code
Python for GenAI
4 weeks • Foundation course
Mathematics for AI
6 weeks • Essential math foundations
Data Structures & Algorithms
6 weeks • Complexity, graphs, search
Software Engineering Fundamentals
6 weeks • Tests, APIs, rollback
Target Job Roles
Entry-Level
- • Junior Python Developer
- • Data Entry Specialist
- • IT Support Technician
Internships
- • Software Development Intern
- • Data Science Intern
- • AI Research Intern
Salary Range
£20,000 - £35,000
Intermediate Level
Master AI frameworks and build RAG systems
Skills You'll Learn
- LangChain framework for RAG systems
- Document loaders and text processing
- Vector stores and embeddings
- RAG pipeline development
- LangChain agents and tools
- API integration and deployment
Available Courses
Hands on LangChain
6 weeks • Production RAG systems
Hands on LangGraph
6 weeks • Advanced agentic RAG
Generative AI & Agentic AI
32 weeks • RAG, PEFT, agents, production
LLM Apps: Architecture by Use Case
10 weeks • fourteen archetypes, choose then defend
Applied GenAI Engineering
28 weeks • seven ships, first deploy week 4
AI Engineering Scenarios
16 weeks • case-method, decide under pressure
Prompt Engineering Mastery
4 weeks • Tested, versioned prompts
LLM API Integration
4 weeks • Retries, streaming, cost
Vector Database Deep Dive
4 weeks • Indexes, hybrid search, ops
API Design for AI Systems
4 weeks • Streaming, jobs, versioning
AI Agent Development
6 weeks • Tools, budgets, tracing
Target Job Roles
Mid-Level
- • AI Engineer (RAG Specialist)
- • LLM Application Developer
- • GenAI Developer
- • RAG Systems Engineer
Specializations
- • Prompt Engineer
- • Vector Database Engineer
- • AI Integration Specialist
Salary Range
£40,000 - £70,000
Advanced Level
Become a production-ready AI engineer
Skills You'll Learn
- Machine learning and deep learning
- NLP and computer vision
- MLOps and model deployment
- Production system architecture
- Model training and optimization
- Monitoring and observability
Available Courses
How to Become an AI Engineer
16 weeks • Comprehensive program
Deep Learning Specialisation
8 weeks • Train and defend a network
Computer Vision
6 weeks • Detect, segment, evaluate
NLP Advanced Techniques
6 weeks • Specialist models vs LLMs
MLOps Deep Dive
6 weeks • Registry, gates, rollback
Model Optimisation & Fine-tuning
6 weeks • LoRA, quantise, verdict
Target Job Roles
Senior-Level
- • Senior AI Engineer
- • ML Engineer
- • AI Systems Architect
- • Production AI Engineer
Specializations
- • MLOps Engineer
- • NLP Engineer
- • Computer Vision Engineer
- • AI Infrastructure Engineer
Salary Range
£70,000 - £120,000
Enterprise Level
Build secure, scalable enterprise AI systems
Skills You'll Learn
- Enterprise AI architecture
- Security and privacy (on-premise, private AI)
- Scalable AI agent systems
- Cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP)
- Kubernetes and container orchestration
- AI governance and compliance
Available Courses
Enterprise AI Engineer
20 weeks • Zero-to-Hero program
Becoming an AI Principal Engineer
24 weeks • Eval, systems, defence
AI Security & Privacy
4 weeks • Injection, PII, control map
Kubernetes for AI Systems
4 weeks • GPUs, queues, serving
AI Governance & Compliance
4 weeks • Act, ISO, evidence pack
Multi-Cloud AI Deployment
4 weeks • Two clouds, an exit plan
Target Job Roles
Expert-Level
- • Enterprise AI Architect
- • Principal AI Engineer
- • AI Engineering Lead
- • Staff AI Engineer
Leadership
- • AI Engineering Manager
- • Head of AI Engineering
- • CTO (AI-focused)
Salary Range
£100,000 - £200,000+
Strategy & Consulting
Master AI strategy and business implementation
Skills You'll Learn
- AI strategy and roadmap development
- ROI calculation and business cases
- AI opportunity assessment
- AI governance and risk management
- Stakeholder management
- Implementation planning
Available Courses
Target Job Roles
Consulting
- • AI Consultant
- • AI Strategy Consultant
- • AI Transformation Lead
- • AI Business Analyst
Internal Roles
- • AI Product Manager
- • AI Program Manager
- • AI Innovation Lead
Salary Range
£80,000 - £150,000+
Path courses
Every course that used to sit on the gaps list is now on the catalogue. Open a title to see the curriculum.
Foundation Level
Intermediate Level
Advanced Level
Enterprise Level
Specialised Topics
Industry Job Roles
Real job roles in the AI engineering industry, mapped to our learning path stages.
Entry-Level Positions
Junior Python Developer
Build Python applications, work with APIs, and support development teams.
Salary: £20,000 - £30,000
Data Science Intern
Assist with data analysis, build basic models, and learn from senior data scientists.
Salary: £18,000 - £25,000
Mid-Level Positions
AI Engineer (RAG Specialist)
Build and deploy RAG systems, work with LLMs, and integrate AI into applications.
Salary: £45,000 - £70,000
GenAI Developer
Develop generative AI applications, build chatbots, and create AI-powered features.
Salary: £50,000 - £75,000
Senior-Level Positions
Senior AI Engineer
Design and build production AI systems, lead technical decisions, and mentor junior engineers.
Salary: £75,000 - £120,000
ML Engineer
Build, train, and deploy machine learning models at scale. Focus on production ML systems.
Salary: £80,000 - £130,000
Enterprise-Level Positions
Enterprise AI Architect
Design enterprise AI infrastructure, ensure security and compliance, and lead technical strategy.
Salary: £120,000 - £180,000
Principal AI Engineer
Set technical direction, solve complex problems, and influence company-wide AI strategy.
Salary: £140,000 - £200,000+
Ready to Start Your AI Engineering Journey?
Follow our structured learning path from beginner to senior AI engineer. Each course builds on the previous one, preparing you for real industry roles.