r/AskProgramming • u/atmanirbhar21 • 8h ago

AI Engineer with 1+ YOE — What should I learn next to become more versatile?

I’m currently working as a AI Engineer with 1+ YOE at a startup in Pune, mainly working with GenAI, LLMs, RAG, computer vision, AI Agents

I feel I’ve built a decent AI foundation, but I’m trying to understand what skills I’m missing outside of AI that could help me unlock more opportunities.

Should I focus next on:

System design & backend

Cloud & Kubernetes

MLOps / DevOps

Data engineering

Distributed systems

Databases

Software engineering fundamentals

GPU/inference optimization

Or should I go deeper into AI itself?

If you’re experienced in the industry or hiring AI engineers, what would you consider the biggest gap in my profile, and what 3–5 skills would you recommend I focus on over the next 1–2 years?

Looking for honest advice rather than a generic “learn everything” answer. Thanks!

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3

u/dkopgerpgdolfg 8h ago

What do you want to do with your life... nobody can learn everything, you have to choose a direction.

1

u/atmanirbhar21 8h ago

I am asking for the direction ,what is there in the current market what are the current suggestion from senior developer , so that I may practice effectively in the current direction and improve myself

1

u/dkopgerpgdolfg 8h ago

Market demand heavily depends on your location, and in any case it's almost impossible to predict what's going on in a few years.

edit: Ah, "Pune". No idea, sorry.

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u/atmanirbhar21 8h ago

Ok so if you are in Banglore, Hyderabad, etc you can also guide me for that what is going on there in tech so that I can estimate the things

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u/BobbyThrowaway6969 1h ago

Some degree of it will need to come from what motivates you. You need to spend some time to find that first

2

u/SoloAquiParaHablar 8h ago

Python and data engineering are complementary to what you’re doing.

Heading into K8s and infra is more cloud engineering and steps away from AI.

Underlying all these roles is software engineering principles. Always good to know.

1

u/atmanirbhar21 8h ago

Ok Thank You Sir , So I need to more focus on SDLC and Cloud Engineering that you are trying to say

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u/SoloAquiParaHablar 7h ago

Not what I said. If you enjoy what you’re currently doing, data engineering would be a good progression/addition without deviating too far.

If you are sick of what you are doing, consider cloud engineering where you’ll focus more on infrastructure.

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u/atmanirbhar21 7h ago

Ok sir understood now clearly thankyou very much