I Am Starting Over in Public

Mohanragul — Fri, 01 May 2026 18:51:18 +0000

I have a computer science degree with a specialization in AI and Data Science. And I still didn't know what prompt engineering actually was.
Not really. Not until three weeks ago.

That's the honest starting point.

I graduated, looked at my skills, and realized that a lot of what the real world is talking about — GenAI, prompt design, modern full-stack tools — either wasn't covered in my coursework or just went past me without landing.
I could have waited until I felt ready. Instead, I decided to relearn it in public.

Who I am

Fresh engineering grad. Coimbatore-based. Interested in AI and full-stack development, and currently figuring out how to get better at both at the same time.

I'm not here to perform expertise I don't have. I'm here to build, document what I learn, and eventually land a job that lets me keep doing this.

What I'm relearning and building

Four things on my plate right now:

AI/ML fundamentals — from the ground up, not just theory
MERN stack — building real full-stack projects
React → Next.js — making the transition properly
JavaScript → TypeScript — because I keep seeing it everywhere and I need to stop avoiding it

These aren't goals I set to sound ambitious. They're the gaps I noticed when I looked at job listings and got honest with myself.

Where I am right now

Started with Elements of AI from University of Helsinki — low pressure, good foundation reset.

Then Generative AI for Beginners from Google.
Currently working through the IBM Applied AI Developer Professional Certificate. Three courses done:

Introduction to AI ✅
Generative AI – Introduction and Applications ✅
Generative AI – Prompt Engineering Basics ✅

Three more to go.

The prompt engineering course is where something actually clicked. I'd been using ChatGPT and Claude for a while and thought prompts were just — type what you need, maybe fix your grammar, get an answer.

Turns out prompts have types. Paradigms. Building blocks. There are tools built specifically to optimize them. I had seen "prompt engineering" mentioned a hundred times and never actually understood what it meant.

The fact that I specialized in AI in college and still missed this says a lot about the gap between academic curricula and where the field actually is.

What comes next

Projects. Real ones.

I'll share what I build, what breaks, what I figure out, and what I wish someone had told me earlier — not just polished final results, but the messy middle too.

I'll also share dev news and tools I come across that seem worth passing on. This won't only be about my own work.

The honest goal

I want to land a job in AI or full-stack development. Not hiding that.

But I also want to keep growing after I get there. Building in public is how I plan to stay accountable — not just during the job hunt, but after it.

If you're in a similar phase — relearning, rebuilding, or just starting out — I'd genuinely like to hear from you.

What's one thing you wish your college had actually taught you about working in tech?