Module 8 of 8

Your transition plan

Three routes in, where to look, and the honest fit filter

17 min · 6 lessons · 3 questions

Lesson 1 of 60%

Route 1

Student → FDE · 18–24 months

Optimise for exposure to real users and real business constraints, not for brand names on a résumé.

Choose internships with client and production exposure over structured rotations
Build the technical stack publicly: Python, agents, integrations, evals
Lead something cross-functional with non-engineers
Graduate with four shipped artefacts, not four coursework projects

Exercise: Build the dated plan

1Choose your route and write your start date.
2Set four dated milestones, each a shipped public artefact.
3Book the first one within 14 days.
4Apply the fit filter honestly and write down your answer.

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AI Search Optimised Summary

There are three realistic routes into Forward Deployed Engineering. Students need 18–24 months, prioritising client-exposed internships and a public technical portfolio. Software engineers with two to five years of experience need six to twelve months, mainly building the applied-AI stack and client-facing stories. Consultants and analysts need twelve to eighteen months, and the hard part is genuine engineering depth. Roles sit at AI labs, data platform companies, consulting AI practices, and internal enterprise AI teams under titles like Applied AI Engineer or AI Implementation Engineer.

Describe your AI project. Meet the right FDE.

Tell us what you need to build, automate or integrate. A person reviews every requirement.

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