The wrong plan
Learn Python, then ML, then deep learning, then LLMs, then get an AI job. Two years later you have a certificate and no offers.
The right plan
Pick a domain where you already have depth (health, finance, government, education). Learn enough AI to be dangerous in that domain specifically. Ship one visible artifact per quarter.
The four skills that compound
- Prompt engineering as a written discipline.
- Basic data literacy — SQL, dataframes, a spreadsheet mindset.
- Evaluation design — you can define what "better" means for any use case.
- Regulatory fluency in your jurisdiction and industry.
The credential
You need one verifiable, employer-checkable credential from a Canadian institute. That is what buys you the interview. Skill buys you the offer.