> ship one real app per month, ugly counts > master 4 things cold: prompts, tool calling, RAG, evals > use cheap models first, scale only when you can prove ROI > deploy everywhere users can hit it > open-source one project this month with a real README > own one lane: product, applied ML, or automation
everything else is just credential chasing. this is how you actually get hired and start charging by month 3
stop learning for years without actions, since it doesn't increase your potential salary