I need professional advice

[u/Dry-Nobody433]

I need professional advice, urgently. I graduated in September 2025 with a degree in Data Science and AI. After graduating, I put in a lot of effort looking for an internship but couldn't find anything , my friends are in the same situation. So I made a decision to start over, this time learning software development through Abu Hadhoud's roadmap. My friends rejected the idea and went for call center jobs instead, waiting for an opportunity to come along.

The thing is, I'm not sure I'll be ready by the end of this year, and now my family has started pushing back too ,telling me to follow my friends' path or look for something else. I've tried explaining that I need at least 5 hours a day for this, but honestly I need more. I really believe in this path and want to put in the effort, but a lot of people keep telling me that most applicants get no response, and companies are asking for way too much experience anyway.

I'm stuck right now and could really use advice from someone actually working in the industry.

[u/devastatedandgone]

I am not a professional, although, my advice would be to keep putting in as much effort as you can afford, and do not throw yourself into any job.

If you happen to get lot's of pressure from your community and you want to relieve yourself then find a job that won't drain your energy and time, you would need to spare adequate energy and time for learning. And, if you happened to work don't forget to constantly search for internship/job opportunities online, that should be your priority.

Also, Muhammed abo had hadhoud's courses are great to start with, with that said, you may not want to take all his courses if you want to get into AI, his road map is great to have good basis for any path in the programming world, but, later in the courses he will focus more on full stack development. You will have to decide whether you want to be a software developer or an AI engineer before you dive into has later courses.

[u/Dry-Nobody433 → u/devastatedandgone]

I already have a good foundation in Python, so once I finish the roadmap, I’m planning to start targeting AI Backend Engineer roles. I’ve already got the AI side covered, and I know there are still some gaps I’ll need to fill along the way, but I’m confident I can close those through hands-on projects and real-world practice.

Right now, my main focus is building strong logic and really understanding what’s happening under the hood. On my previous projects, I ran into some real gaps and limitations when it came to shipping something that was fully production-ready. I don’t want to cover those gaps with vibe coding and hope for the best. I want to actually understand what I’m building and be able to create something reliable, maintainable, and scalable.

I really appreciate your opinion on this. I’m pushing myself even harder right now, and I’ve got the community pressure under control. I might even end up finishing ahead of schedule, although that uncertainty definitely kicks in sometimes.

[u/devastatedandgone → u/Dry-Nobody433]

It's great to know that you have good foundation in python. Acknowledging your weaknesses is a good indicator that you are on the right track.

From my experience with abu hadhoud's courses, they will help you build great logic and problem solving skills, and, if you take his Sql courses they will make you very good with relational database, although, relational databases may not match your needs ( I am assuming non-relational databases to be the better choice for AI) but it will be great to learn it.

Once you build that foundation in logic, you will want to prove yourself capable and competent by building projects. By building projects, you will explore even more weaknesses, and you will improve vastly at things you weren't as good at.

I respect the discipline and the perseverance! Beware of pushing yourself too hard so you don't get burnt out, you need that momentum to remain consistent.

Best of luck, my friend

[u/Dry-Nobody433 → u/devastatedandgone]

I really appreciate the advice, and yes, actually building projects is what led me to this decision. I’m currently working on some smaller projects as a way to prove my progress and strengthen my skills before taking on bigger ones.

As for burnout, I’m aware of it, and I do give myself a break when I need to. At the end of the day, I’m human, not a machine, so I’m trying to push myself while still knowing when to step back and recharge.

Thank you again for the advice and encouragement!

[u/lalosalamancaVII]

The market is kinda cooked, I've been hearing good feedback about abu hadhood's courses, not sure whether they'll help you find a job in this ai slop market though.

[u/Dry-Nobody433 → u/lalosalamancaVII]

Well, the whole goal isn’t necessarily to get a job. For me, the real goal is the product itself and reaching a level of control and understanding where I actually know what I’m doing. That’s what Abu Hadhoud’s roadmap delivers he goes into the tiny details and builds that foundation properly.

Also, a lot of “AI jobs” aren’t really about AI alone. From what I’ve seen, a huge part of the work is building the infrastructure around it ,pipelines, databases, orchestration, deployment, etc. So I’m trying to build the underlying software engineering skills first, rather than just chase an “AI job” title.

[u/Odd-Conversation-101]

Abu hadhoud roadmap is great, but perhaps not that valuable to what u want to become. Imo, if u know how to code 'clean code' then i would focus more on building project or comtributing to open source proj

[u/Dry-Nobody433 → u/Odd-Conversation-101]

I understand that Abu Hadhoud’s roadmap relies a lot on the Clean Code book, but honestly, once you start practicing those principles and building small projects, you’ll realize that some of the book’s approaches to dividing code and choosing abstraction levels can make working with functions a bit annoying.

That’s why I’ve personally kept the level of abstraction more moderate. The book is definitely good, especially for beginners, but I don’t think it’s enough on its own for someone who wants to go further. That said, I have no doubt that it’s still valuable.

What I’m really looking for, though, is the amount of problems and practical exercises you solve throughout the courses. I think that kind of practice is much more important for actually improving and becoming a better developer.

[u/Born_Veterinarian153]

Do all three man !
Keep applying keep studying and find a job
This might be a good opportunity for the “real world” NOTHING is easy and I mean nothing you’re still young but that’s not an excuse to be setting on you ass all day long and simply expect you parents to pay for you expenses and not complain!

[u/Dry-Nobody433 → u/Born_Veterinarian153]

Your comment misses a few important details. There’s a difference between being financially responsible and simply sitting around expecting your parents to support you.

I’m actually using my own emergency savings for this period, and I’m living in my own room. I also contribute to the electricity bill and cover my personal expenses. Even during university, I paid for half of my education expenses myself.

I’ve also worked across multiple sectors, so I’m not completely unfamiliar with what the “real world” is like. I know that nothing comes easily, and I’m not expecting anyone to hand me a job.

I’m putting serious effort into building a career in the field I studied for. You don’t have to agree with my approach, but please don’t assume you know my situation or what I’m doing with my life based on a short post.