# AI Engineer in 14 Days: Software Engineer to AI Engineer

> Free, interactive course that transforms software engineers into AI engineers using bridge-first learning. Every AI concept is taught as a delta from something you already know.

## About

AI Engineer in 14 Days is a free 14-day interactive curriculum designed for experienced software engineers who want to become AI engineers. Instead of starting from scratch, every concept bridges from familiar SWE knowledge: REST APIs → Model APIs, SQL queries → vector search, unit tests → AI evals, CI/CD → LLMOps. You ship a real AI project every day — 14 projects total.

- Target audience: Software engineers (junior to senior) with coding experience
- Prerequisites: Programming experience, familiarity with REST APIs, basic web development
- No ML/AI background required
- Cost: Completely free (bring your own OpenAI API key for hands-on exercises)
- Format: Self-paced, interactive, browser-based with code playgrounds

## Course Structure

- **Week 1 — Build AI Products**: LLM APIs, embeddings, RAG, function calling, AI agents, multimodal AI, capstone project
- **Week 2 — Ship AI to Production**: Evals, security, cost optimization, LLMOps, fine-tuning, adding AI to existing apps, capstone project

## Pages

- [Course Homepage](https://aiengineerin14days.site/): Landing page with course overview and bridge-first methodology
- [Full Curriculum](https://aiengineerin14days.site/curriculum): All 14 days with descriptions, objectives, and deliverables
- [Skill Scanner](https://aiengineerin14days.site/skill-scanner): Assessment quiz to determine your starting skill level
- [Day 1: LLM APIs & Structured Output](https://aiengineerin14days.site/day/1): REST APIs → Model APIs. Ship: AI code review tool
- [Day 2: Embeddings & Vector Search](https://aiengineerin14days.site/day/2): SQL LIKE → Vector similarity. Ship: Semantic search engine
- [Day 3: RAG Deep Dive](https://aiengineerin14days.site/day/3): Database queries → Retrieval + generation. Ship: Document Q&A system
- [Day 4: Function Calling & Tool Chains](https://aiengineerin14days.site/day/4): REST endpoints → Tool definitions. Ship: AI assistant with tools
- [Day 5: AI Agents & Orchestration](https://aiengineerin14days.site/day/5): State machines → Agent loops. Ship: Research automation agent
- [Day 6: Multimodal AI & Streaming UX](https://aiengineerin14days.site/day/6): File uploads → Vision/audio APIs. Ship: Receipt scanner
- [Day 7: Capstone - AI Documentation Assistant](https://aiengineerin14days.site/day/7): Full-stack app → AI-native product
- [Day 8: AI Evaluation & Testing](https://aiengineerin14days.site/day/8): Unit tests → Evals. Ship: Eval suite for RAG app
- [Day 9: Security & Guardrails](https://aiengineerin14days.site/day/9): Input validation → Prompt injection defense. Ship: Hardened AI endpoint
- [Day 10: Cost Optimization & Multi-Model](https://aiengineerin14days.site/day/10): Caching → Semantic caching + model routing. Ship: Multi-model router
- [Day 11: LLMOps & Observability](https://aiengineerin14days.site/day/11): APM/Datadog → LLM tracing. Ship: Observable AI pipeline
- [Day 12: Fine-tuning & Model Customization](https://aiengineerin14days.site/day/12): Config files → Fine-tuning. Ship: Fine-tuned classifier
- [Day 13: Adding AI to Existing Apps](https://aiengineerin14days.site/day/13): Existing codebase → AI-enhanced features. Ship: 3 AI features in Next.js app
- [Day 14: Capstone - AI Codebase Q&A](https://aiengineerin14days.site/day/14): Production deployment → Production-grade AI system
- [Build-in-Public Feed](https://aiengineerin14days.site/feed): Community feed of learner projects and progress
- [Leaderboard](https://aiengineerin14days.site/leaderboard): Learner rankings by progress, streak, and boss challenges
- [Detailed Course Content](https://swe-to-ai.vercel.app/llms-full.txt): Full curriculum details for LLMs

## Key Features

- **Bridge-First Learning**: Every AI concept maps from a SWE concept you already know
- **Ship Every Day**: Deploy a real AI project each day, building a portfolio of 14 apps
- **AI-Powered Tutor**: Socratic AI sidebar that guides without giving answers
- **Interactive Playgrounds**: Code in your browser with Prompt Lab, RAG Builder, Agent Designer
- **Spaced Repetition Review**: Built-in spaced review system for concept retention
- **Knowledge Graph**: Visual map of your learning progress across all concepts
- **Boss Challenges**: Advanced challenges that test deep understanding each day