6 books. 6 courses. 6 months.
Ship real LLMs without the wait or the tuition.
I've spent over 14 years in AI research and engineering.
Read hundreds of papers. Tested countless courses.
Shipped AI products to production.
Here's the truth:
You can get 90% of the practical LLM knowledge you need without spending $120K on a degree.
So, I put together a focused 6-month roadmap for you.
Each month, you'll read 1 book and complete 1 free course.
Just 60 minutes/day.
Here’s your roadmap:
🔸 Month 1: Python Basics
📘 Book: Automate the Boring Stuff with Python
✅ Automate repetitive tasks
✅ Write practical scripts
✅ Use real-world examples fast
🎥 Course: Python for Everybody (Michigan)
✅ Core Python skills
✅ Solve real coding problems
✅ Build confidence through practice
🔸 Month 2: Practical Deep Learning
📘 Book: Deep Learning for Coders (fastai)
✅ Build neural nets quickly
✅ Learn PyTorch workflows
✅ Go from beginner to builder
🎥 Course: FastAI's Practical Deep Learning
✅ Train real models fast
✅ Solve real-world tasks
✅ Minimal code, big results
🔸 Month 3: NLP Mastery
📘 Book: Speech & Language Processing
✅ Core NLP foundations
✅ Deep neural NLP understanding
✅ Learn transformer theory
🎥 Course: Stanford NLP (CS224n)
✅ Master attention mechanisms
✅ Train SOTA models
✅ Work hands-on with BERT
🔸 Month 4: LLMs from Scratch
📘 Book: Build an LLM from Scratch
✅ Understand LLM building blocks
✅ Build your own GPT
✅ Learn training and inference
🎥 Course: Stanford LLM from Scratch (CS 336)
✅ Code LLMs from scratch
✅ Understand evals and scaling
✅ Learn alignment and reasoning
🔸 Month 5: Applied NLP
📘 Book: NLP with Transformers (Hugging Face)
✅ Understand transformer applications
✅ Fine-tune for Q&A, chatbots, more
✅ Apply SOTA NLP tools
🎥 Course: Hugging Face NLP Course
✅ Build transformer pipelines
✅ Understand reasoning models
✅ Deploy real NLP apps
🔸 Month 6: LLMs in Production
📘 Book: LLM Engineer's Handbook (Iuzstin & Labonne)
✅ Design LLM systems end-to-end
✅ Build RAG pipelines reliably
✅ Monitor and maintain in prod
🎥 Course: Stanford MLSys Seminars
✅ Real-world AI infrastructure
✅ Proven deployment patterns
✅ Lessons from top AI teams
That’s your 6-month roadmap to LLM mastery.
All it takes? Just 60 minutes/day of consistent learning.
Tag someone who’s learning AI.
This roadmap will save them months.
Or better yet, take the 6-month challenge together.
🔁 Repost and share this with them.
➕ Follow me, Sairam, to learn AI the right way.
Ship real LLMs without the wait or the tuition.
I've spent over 14 years in AI research and engineering.
Read hundreds of papers. Tested countless courses.
Shipped AI products to production.
Here's the truth:
You can get 90% of the practical LLM knowledge you need without spending $120K on a degree.
So, I put together a focused 6-month roadmap for you.
Each month, you'll read 1 book and complete 1 free course.
Just 60 minutes/day.
Here’s your roadmap:
🔸 Month 1: Python Basics
📘 Book: Automate the Boring Stuff with Python
✅ Automate repetitive tasks
✅ Write practical scripts
✅ Use real-world examples fast
🎥 Course: Python for Everybody (Michigan)
✅ Core Python skills
✅ Solve real coding problems
✅ Build confidence through practice
🔸 Month 2: Practical Deep Learning
📘 Book: Deep Learning for Coders (fastai)
✅ Build neural nets quickly
✅ Learn PyTorch workflows
✅ Go from beginner to builder
🎥 Course: FastAI's Practical Deep Learning
✅ Train real models fast
✅ Solve real-world tasks
✅ Minimal code, big results
🔸 Month 3: NLP Mastery
📘 Book: Speech & Language Processing
✅ Core NLP foundations
✅ Deep neural NLP understanding
✅ Learn transformer theory
🎥 Course: Stanford NLP (CS224n)
✅ Master attention mechanisms
✅ Train SOTA models
✅ Work hands-on with BERT
🔸 Month 4: LLMs from Scratch
📘 Book: Build an LLM from Scratch
✅ Understand LLM building blocks
✅ Build your own GPT
✅ Learn training and inference
🎥 Course: Stanford LLM from Scratch (CS 336)
✅ Code LLMs from scratch
✅ Understand evals and scaling
✅ Learn alignment and reasoning
🔸 Month 5: Applied NLP
📘 Book: NLP with Transformers (Hugging Face)
✅ Understand transformer applications
✅ Fine-tune for Q&A, chatbots, more
✅ Apply SOTA NLP tools
🎥 Course: Hugging Face NLP Course
✅ Build transformer pipelines
✅ Understand reasoning models
✅ Deploy real NLP apps
🔸 Month 6: LLMs in Production
📘 Book: LLM Engineer's Handbook (Iuzstin & Labonne)
✅ Design LLM systems end-to-end
✅ Build RAG pipelines reliably
✅ Monitor and maintain in prod
🎥 Course: Stanford MLSys Seminars
✅ Real-world AI infrastructure
✅ Proven deployment patterns
✅ Lessons from top AI teams
That’s your 6-month roadmap to LLM mastery.
All it takes? Just 60 minutes/day of consistent learning.
Tag someone who’s learning AI.
This roadmap will save them months.
Or better yet, take the 6-month challenge together.
🔁 Repost and share this with them.
➕ Follow me, Sairam, to learn AI the right way.
