Phase 0 — Orientation

Before any technique: know which engineer you're becoming, how to study a field that changes monthly, and how to use this guide so it produces a portfolio instead of just notes.

Documents

#DocumentWhat you'll get
00What Is an LLM Engineer?The role spectrum on two axes; a role-targeting plan
01Roles and Career PathsDeep per-role cards (skills, tools, metrics, portfolio) + a 90-day plan
02How to Study Fast-Moving AIInvariants vs specifics; primary sources; a change-tracking system
03How to Use This GuideThe 15-section template, the role paths, and how labs compound

How to work through it

Read all four in order — it's short and it frames the entire curriculum. By the end you should have: a chosen target role, a 90-day plan, a personal AI-tracking system, and a portfolio/ repo ready to fill.

Phase 0 artifacts

  • role-plan.md (role-targeting plan from 2 real job postings)
  • A 90-day role plan with a portfolio project spec and interview checklist
  • watchlist.md, feeds.md, notes-dated.md (your change-tracking system)
  • A portfolio/ repo with PLAN.md and a per-phase progress tracker

Next

→ Phase 1 — LLM Vocabulary and Mental Models