Struggling to level up for AI Engineer roles (coding + system design) need good resources and guidance

Posted by Flashy_Aardvark_1807@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 4 comments

Hey everyone,

I am currently doing a part-time AI role and trying to push for a full-time AI engineer job, but honestly I feel like my skills aren’t where they should be

My coding has gotten worse because I use AI for most things now and in interviews I feel stuck when I have to think from scratch. System design is also a big weak point for me

Trying to make a comeback and actually get solid again

Would really appreciate:

- a practical roadmap for AI engineer roles (apart from roadmap sh , i used that but any other particular which helped you)

- good resources for coding + system design

- how to balance real work vs interview prep

-Good projects

Also curious is anyone else dealing with this? like feeling ,you almost forgot coding because of AI tools?

Thanks

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Wild-Ganache3061@reddit

been there with the ai tools making me lazy too

neetcode for coding practice, designing data intensive applications book for systems

Flashy_Aardvark_1807@reddit (OP)

Got it thanks

From what I can tell there is zero difference between an "AI Engineer" and any normal software engineer role. I think you need to focus on improving as a SWE, perhaps without AI, especially if you feel it is making you worse. It should make you faster.
If you don't know how to create a large scalable codebase from scratch, and are relying on AI to fill in gaps in your knowledge without realizing, you lose the opportunity to fill those gaps yourself and you will always be a vibe coder.
"Engineering" implies you are an expert in the field and know how to assemble things without AI. Ideally, AI is just a force multiplier, allowing you to assemble faster. I'd recommend stopping using AI altogether if you feel its making you worse. And focus on hand coding. If you absolutely must use AI, read the code it generates and make sure you understand every line, what it's doing, and why it's there.

Thank you , any particular roadmap or guide i can follow (a rough plan also helps😬)