6-MONTH AI ROADMAP
Zero to 15 LPA — The AI Roadmap
No One Teaches You
The complete 6-month plan for engineering & design students to master AI tools, build real-world projects, and land a high-paying job. No degree upgrade needed — just execution.
6 Months
5 Phases
3 Real Projects
Free Forever
By Mukesh · @mukeshux.ai
2025 Salary Data — AI Roles in India
AI/ML Engineer
12–22 LPA
Prompt Engineer
10–15 LPA
AI Product Designer
10–14 LPA
Data Scientist
10–18 LPA
AI Automation Lead
12–20 LPA
Your Progress
0 / 21 weeks completeCheck off weeks as you complete them to track your journey
1
AI Foundations
Build your core base (Month 1 · Weeks 1–4)
Week 1
Understand AI & Its Landscape
Study what AI, ML, and GenAI actually mean. Read 3 articles on how LLMs work.
5 hrs
Week 2
Python Basics for AI
Learn Python fundamentals: variables, loops, functions, and list comprehensions. Complete 20 exercises on freeCodeCamp or Codecademy.
8 hrs
Week 3
Prompt Engineering 101
Master zero-shot, few-shot, chain-of-thought, and role prompting. Write 20 prompts for real tasks.
Build a prompt library with 20 reusable prompts for your domain
6 hrs
Week 4
First AI Project
Use the OpenAI or Anthropic API to build a simple chatbot or text summariser. Deploy it publicly.
Mini Project: Personal AI assistant that answers questions about your resume
10 hrs
2
AI Tool Mastery
Go deep on the tools that matter (Month 2 · Weeks 5–8)
Week 5
ChatGPT & Claude — Power User
Learn custom instructions, canvas mode, multi-turn reasoning, and code interpreter. Solve 10 real work problems using AI.
6 hrs
Week 6
Image & Design AI
Master Midjourney, DALL-E, and Adobe Firefly. Generate 30 production-quality assets for a brand project.
Project: Brand kit for a fake startup — logo, hero image, social banners
7 hrs
Week 7
Automation & No-Code AI
Learn Make.com or n8n. Build 3 automated workflows using AI triggers (e.g. auto-summarise emails, generate social posts from blog articles).
8 hrs
Week 8
AI for Developers
Use GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and Codeium. Build a complete feature for a real project using AI-assisted coding.
Project: Build a portfolio website using only AI-assisted coding (no manual CSS)
9 hrs
3
Build & Ship Real Projects
Portfolio-worthy work (Months 3–4 · Weeks 9–16)
Week 9
Pick Your Niche
Choose one domain: EdTech, FinTech, HealthTech, or Design. Research 5 real problems AI can solve in that space.
4 hrs
Week 10
Project 1 — AI SaaS MVP
Build a micro SaaS: a tool that does one thing well using an AI API. Examples: Resume scorer, contract analyser, or ad copy generator.
Deliverable: Live product with a landing page, GitHub repo, and 5 beta users
15 hrs
Week 12
Project 2 — RAG Application
Build a Retrieval-Augmented Generation app. Use LangChain or LlamaIndex to create a chatbot trained on your own documents.
Deliverable: A chatbot for a company's FAQ or a college's admission policies
15 hrs
Week 14
Project 3 — AI + Design
Create an AI-powered design tool or Figma plugin. Automate a repetitive design task (icon generation, copy suggestions, component naming).
Deliverable: Working plugin with 50+ installs or a published case study
12 hrs
Week 16
Document Everything
Write a detailed case study for each project: problem → approach → tech stack → outcome → learnings. Publish on Medium or your portfolio.
6 hrs
4
Interview Preparation
Get hired, not just skilled (Month 5 · Weeks 17–20)
Week 17
Resume & LinkedIn Overhaul
Rewrite your resume using the STAR format with quantified impact. Optimise your LinkedIn with keywords recruiters actually search for.
Use Claude to generate 5 resume bullet options per project. Pick the strongest.
5 hrs
Week 18
AI Interview Questions Bank
Study the top 50 AI interview questions: LLM architecture, RAG, fine-tuning, prompt engineering, and AI ethics. Write answers in your own words.
8 hrs
Week 19
Mock Interviews
Do 5 mock interviews with a peer or use Claude as an interviewer. Record and review your answers. Focus on clarity and conciseness.
6 hrs
Week 20
Salary Research & Negotiation Prep
Research real salary data for AI roles: use Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary, and Levels.fyi. Know your number and your BATNA before every offer.
Target salary by role: AI Engineer 12–18 LPA · Prompt Engineer 10–15 LPA · AI Designer 10–14 LPA
3 hrs
5
Land the Job
Outbound, network, and close the offer (Month 6 · Weeks 21–24)
Week 21
Build Your Outbound System
Identify 50 target companies hiring for AI roles. Build a tracker in Notion. Set a goal: 10 applications per week, 5 cold outreaches per week.
4 hrs
Week 22
Cold Outreach That Works
Send personalised DMs to hiring managers and AI leads. Template: 1 compliment → 1 insight → 1 ask. Follow up after 5 days.
Message script: 'I saw you're scaling your AI team — I built [X] using [tool] and reduced [metric] by [%]. Would love 15 mins.'
5 hrs
Week 23
LinkedIn Content Sprint
Post 3× per week for 4 weeks. Share project learnings, AI hot takes, and behind-the-scenes builds. Grow to 1,000+ followers.
6 hrs
Week 24
Offer Negotiation
When you get an offer, never accept on the spot. Ask for 48 hours. Counter with data. Negotiate base, variable, joining bonus, and stock.
Script: 'I'm very excited about this role. Based on my research and the projects I've shipped, I was expecting X. Is there flexibility?'
3 hrs
You've got the map.
Now execute.
The roadmap is free. The results depend on you. Share it with someone who needs it.