AI/ML & Data Engineer Roadmap for 12th Pass
Students (No Computer Background)
Who Is This For?
• Just passed 12th (any stream)
• Never studied Computer Science before
• Want to start career in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or
Data Engineering
Phase 1: Foundation (Start from Zero)
Duration: 1 Month
Topics to Learn:
1. What is Programming? (YouTube: "What is Programming for
Beginners")
2. Learn Python Programming (Beginner Level)
3. Basic Math Refresh
Goal:
• Understand how coding works
• Feel confident writing small Python programs
Phase 2: Intermediate Python + Computer Basics
Duration: 1.5 Months
Topics:
1. Intermediate Python
2. Introduction to Computers
o What is RAM, CPU, Storage, OS?
o What is Internet, IP Address, Cloud?
Goal:
• Write structured programs
• Be familiar with basic computer terms
Phase 3A: Road to AI/ML Engineer
Duration: 3–6 Months
Topics for AI:
Topics for Machine Learning:
Topics for Math in AI/ML:
Topics for Deep Learning:
Tools/Libraries for AI/ML:
Goal:
• Build 3–5 projects using ML/DL models
• Host projects on GitHub
Phase 3B: Road to Data Engineer
Duration: 3–6 Months
SQL Topics
Data Analysis Tools:
Data Visualization Tools:
Data Engineer-Specific Tools:
Goal:
• Build 3 data pipeline projects using Python + SQL + CSV/Excel
• Show ability to clean, transform, and move data
Final Phase: Job Preparation (Optional Courses/Steps)
Do This:
1. Learn Git & GitHub
2. Create Resume & LinkedIn Profile
3. Upload Projects on GitHub
4. Do Internship or Open Source Contribution
Career Options by 2030 (After Following This Roadmap)
• Junior Python Developer
• Machine Learning Engineer
• Data Analyst
• Data Engineer
• AI/ML Intern / Trainee
Many students get confused about which programming languages to
learn (and which to skip) for AI/ML and Data Engineering.
For AI/ML Engineer — Learn These Languages
Language Use in AI/ML Why Learn
(main Most important. Used in ML, AI,
Python
language) data, deep learning.
Used to get data from databases
SQL
before applying ML.
R Good for statistics, but not required
(optional) if you know Python.
Only needed for building high-
C++ / Java Optional
speed apps or for research.
Only useful if you're building web
JavaScript Optional
apps with AI.
Skip These for AI/ML (Not Useful for Beginners):
• HTML/CSS – Not needed unless making AI web apps
• PHP – Not useful for ML
• Kotlin / Swift – Only for mobile apps
• C – Too low-level, not used in ML
For Data Engineer / Data Scientist — Learn These Languages
Language Use Why Learn
Python For data analysis, ML, automation
SQL MUST for querying databases
Java / Scala Used in Big Data tools like Hadoop, Spark
R (optional) Only if you're into stats-heavy work
Shell Scripting Useful for automation on servers
Bash + Linux Helps in handling cloud systems
Skip These for Data Engineering:
• HTML/CSS – Not needed
• JavaScript – Not needed unless making dashboards
• C/C++ – Not required
• PHP – Not used in data engineering
Final List – Just Learn These
Path Must Learn Optional Skip
AI/ML Engineer Python, SQL R, Java C, HTML,PHP
Data Engineer Python, SQL, Java, Scala Bash, R PHP, JS, C
Now We Have Clear Path That What Should We Learn
Let’s Get Deep Into This
Now I Will Tell You Which Topics You Should Learn
Python Full Learning Roadmap (From 0 to Job-Ready)
Stage 1: Python Basics (Beginner Level)
Time: 2–3 weeks
Goal: Understand how Python works, write basic programs
Topics:
1. Introduction to Python
o What is Python?
o Installing Python and IDE (like VS Code or PyCharm)
o Writing your first program: print("Hello World!")
2. Variables and Data Types
o Numbers, Strings, Booleans
o Type casting (int(), float(), str())
3. Input and Output
o input() and print() functions
o Formatting output using f-strings
4. Operators
o Arithmetic (+, -, *, /, //, %, **)
o Comparison (==, !=, >, <)
o Logical (and, or, not)
5. Conditional Statements
o if, elif, else
o Nested conditions
6. Loops
o for loop
o while loop
o break, continue, pass
7. Basic Programs
o Calculator
o Number guessing game
o Find even/odd numbers
Resource: YouTube – “Python for Beginners” by CodeWithHarry /
Telusko
Stage 2: Intermediate Python (Real Programming Skills)
Time: 3–4 weeks
Goal: Build your logic and start writing real apps
Topics:
1. Data Structures
o Lists, Tuples, Sets, Dictionaries
o Basic operations: add, remove, update, sort
2. String Manipulation
o Indexing, slicing, string methods
o "hello".upper(), "text".replace()
3. Functions
o def keyword
o Parameters, return values
o Built-in vs user-defined functions
4. Scope and Global Variables
o Local vs Global scope
o global keyword
5. Modules and Packages
o import statement
o Using standard modules: math, random, datetime
6. File Handling
o Reading/Writing files using open(), read(), write()
o File modes: r, w, a
7. Exception Handling
o try, except, finally, raise
8. Project Ideas
o To-do list app (text-based)
o File manager program
Tip: Start using www.replit.com to practice code online.
Stage 3: Advanced Python (Job-Level Skills)
Time: 4–6 weeks
Goal: Get ready for real-world projects and advanced topics
Topics:
1. Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
o Classes and Objects
o __init__() constructor
o Inheritance, Encapsulation, Polymorphism
2. Lambda Functions and Map/Filter/Reduce
o lambda x: x*2
o map(), filter(), reduce()
3. List Comprehensions
o [x*x for x in range(10)]
4. Decorators (basic level)
o Functions inside functions
o @decorator syntax
5. Working with JSON and CSV files
o json.load(), json.dump()
o Reading/writing .csv using csv module and pandas
6. Virtual Environment
o venv to manage packages
o pip install to install libraries
Tools: VS Code, GitHub (start learning how to save your code on
GitHub)
Stage 4: Python for AI/ML or Data Engineer (Career-Specific Python)
Time: 6–10 weeks
Goal: Use Python with libraries used in jobs
Topics for AI/ML Engineer:
1. NumPy – For numerical operations (arrays, matrices)
2. pandas – For data manipulation (like Excel in code)
3. matplotlib / seaborn – For data visualization
4. scikit-learn – For machine learning models
5. TensorFlow / PyTorch – For deep learning and AI
6. Build Projects like:
o House price predictor
o Face detection
o Chatbot
Topics for Data Engineer:
1. pandas – Clean and handle large datasets
2. SQL (combine with Python) – Fetch and analyze data
3. PySpark – Handle Big Data using Spark in Python
4. Working with APIs – requests module to get online data
5. Data pipelines using Airflow / Luigi (optional)
6. Build Projects like:
o Sales data analysis
o Data cleaning automation
o Stream pipeline using PySpark
For AI/ML Engineer
FOR AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Basics to Learn First:
1. What is AI? – Types: Narrow AI, General AI, Super AI
2. History and Applications of AI – Self-driving cars, Chatbots, Face
Recognition
3. Difference between AI, ML & DL
Key Topics:
• Intelligent agents
• Search algorithms (DFS, BFS, A*)
• Game playing (Minimax algorithm)
• Logic & reasoning
• Expert systems
• Natural Language Processing (NLP) basics
• Computer Vision basics
Tools:
• Python (Primary language)
• Libraries: numpy, pandas, scikit-learn, nltk, opencv, keras
FOR ML (Machine Learning)
Prerequisite:
• Python programming (Beginner to intermediate)
• Math (Linear Algebra, Stats – explained below)
Core ML Topics:
1. Types of Learning:
o Supervised (Regression, Classification)
o Unsupervised (Clustering, Association)
o Reinforcement Learning (Agent-Environment loop)
2. Important Algorithms:
o Linear Regression
o Logistic Regression
o Decision Trees & Random Forest
o KNN
o Naive Bayes
o SVM
o K-Means
o PCA (Dimensionality Reduction)
o Gradient Descent
o Model Evaluation (Accuracy, Precision, Recall, F1)
Tools:
• scikit-learn (ML algorithms)
• pandas, numpy (data)
• matplotlib, seaborn (visualization)
MATH IN AI/ML (Very Important)
You don’t need to be a math genius — just understand the concepts.
Important Areas:
1. Linear Algebra
o Scalars, Vectors, Matrices
o Matrix multiplication, Inverse
o Eigenvalues & Eigenvectors
2. Probability & Statistics
o Mean, Median, Variance, Standard Deviation
o Probability theory (Bayes’ theorem)
o Distributions (Normal, Binomial)
3. Calculus
o Derivatives
o Partial Derivatives
o Gradient Descent
4. Optimization
o Cost/Loss function
o Convex functions
5. Discrete Math (optional but helpful)
o Logic
o Sets
FOR DEEP LEARNING
Core Concepts:
• Perceptrons and Neural Networks
• Activation Functions (ReLU, Sigmoid)
• Backpropagation
• Gradient Descent
• CNN (Convolutional Neural Networks) – for Images
• RNN (Recurrent Neural Networks) – for Time Series, Text
• LSTM, GRU
• Transfer Learning
• Attention Mechanism, Transformers
• GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks)
Tools:
• TensorFlow
• Keras
• PyTorch
• Google Colab (Free GPU for training models)
TOOLS TO LEARN (As an AI/ML Engineer)
Purpose Tools
Programming Python
Data Handling pandas, numpy
ML Models scikit-learn, xgboost, lightgbm
DL Models keras, tensorflow, pytorch
NLP nltk, spacy, transformers (HuggingFace)
Image Processing opencv, PIL
Deployment Flask, FastAPI, Docker, Streamlit
Cloud Google Cloud, AWS, Azure
Jupyter For experiments and notebooks
For Data Engineer
FOR SQL (Structured Query Language)
Key Topics:
• Basic SQL: SELECT, FROM, WHERE
• Filtering: AND, OR, NOT, LIKE
• Sorting & Limiting: ORDER BY, LIMIT
• Aggregation: COUNT(), SUM(), AVG(), GROUP BY
• Joins: INNER JOIN, LEFT JOIN, RIGHT JOIN, FULL JOIN
• Subqueries & Nested queries
• Window Functions
• Indexing, Views, Normalization
Tools to Practice:
• MySQL
• PostgreSQL
• SQLite
• Use: https://sqlbolt.com to practice
FOR DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS (To become Data Engineer or Analyst)
Tools:
Tool Use
Python Data handling, automation
Pandas Data manipulation
Numpy Numerical operations
SQL Querying data from databases
Excel Spreadsheet analysis
Jupyter Notebook-based analysis
Apache Spark Big Data processing
Hadoop Distributed storage and computing
FOR DATA VISUALIZATION TOOLS
Python Libraries:
• matplotlib – Line plots, bar plots
• seaborn – Heatmaps, violin plots
• plotly – Interactive graphs
• bokeh – Real-time visualization
• altair – Declarative graphs
Other Tools:
• Tableau – Drag and drop interface for dashboards
• Power BI – Microsoft-based data visualization
• Google Data Studio – Free online tool
For JAVA (For Data Engineering or Backend)
1. Core Java:
• Variables, Data Types, Operators
• Conditionals & Loops
• Arrays & Strings
• Methods and Recursion
• Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
o Classes & Objects
o Inheritance, Polymorphism, Abstraction, Encapsulation
2. Advanced Java:
• Collections Framework
• Exception Handling
• File Handling
• Threads and Concurrency
• JDBC (Java Database Connectivity)
3. Tools:
• IntelliJ IDEA / Eclipse (IDE)
• Apache Maven / Gradle
• Spring Boot (optional for APIs)
For SCALA (Used in Big Data & Spark)
1. Scala Basics:
• Syntax, Variables, Data Types
• Conditionals and Loops
• Functions and Recursion
• Collections (List, Map, Set)
• Pattern Matching
2. Functional Programming:
• Immutable data structures
• Higher-order functions
• Lambdas and Closures
3. Scala with Spark:
• RDDs (Resilient Distributed Datasets)
• DataFrames and Datasets
• Spark SQL
• Transformations & Actions
4. Tools:
• IntelliJ IDEA with Scala Plugin
• Apache Spark (Scala API)
SHELL SCRIPTING (For Automation & Data Engineering)
1. Basics:
• Shell Types: bash, sh, zsh
• Basic Commands: ls, cd, pwd, mkdir, rm, touch
• File Permissions: chmod, chown
2. Scripting:
• Variables
• Conditional Statements (if, else, elif)
• Loops (for, while)
• Functions
• Reading Input
• Working with files: cat, grep, awk, sed
3. Automation Examples:
• Scheduling with cron
• Data backups
• Log file analysis
Suggested Learning Order (Non-CS Background)
1. Learn Python
2. Learn Math for AI/ML (side by side)
3. Start with ML (scikit-learn)
4. Learn SQL (for data work)
5. Learn Data Analysis (Pandas, Numpy)
6. Learn Data Visualization
7. Move to Deep Learning (Keras/TensorFlow)
8. Try Real Projects (ML + DL + Visualization)
9. Learn Deployment (Flask/Streamlit)
10. Practice on Kaggle & GitHub
Now the Main Thing SALARY
Based on your Python + AI/ML or Data Engineer skillset as per the full
roadmap — here’s what you can expect in terms of salary by 2030 in
India, Australia, and the USA, assuming:
• You follow this roadmap completely.
• You do 2–3 personal projects.
• You have 1–2 internships or freelancing work.
• You gain 2–5 years of experience by 2030.
Estimated Salary in 2030 (Full-Time Jobs)
In India (per year)
Role Entry (0–1 yr) Mid (2–5 yrs) Senior (5+ yrs)
AI/ML Engineer ₹6–10 LPA ₹12–25 LPA ₹30–60+ LPA
Data Engineer ₹5–8 LPA ₹10–20 LPA ₹25–50+ LPA
Data Scientist ₹6–12 LPA ₹15–28 LPA ₹30–65+ LPA
LPA = Lakhs Per Annum
In Australia (AUD per year)
Role Entry (0–1 yr) Mid (2–5 yrs) Senior (5+ yrs)
AI/ML Engineer AUD 80K–100K AUD 120K–160K AUD 180K–250K
Data Engineer AUD 75K–95K AUD 110K–150K AUD 170K–220K
Data Scientist AUD 85K–110K AUD 130K–170K AUD 190K–240K
In Australia pays very well for data roles due to demand and fewer skilled
engineers.
In United States (USD per year)
Role Entry (0–1 yr) Mid (2–5 yrs) Senior (5+ yrs)
AI/ML Engineer $90K–130K $150K–200K $220K–300K+
Data Engineer $85K–120K $130K–180K $200K–280K
Data Scientist $95K–140K $160K–210K $230K–320K+
In USA Big Tech companies like Google, Meta, and Amazon may pay even
higher.
Extra Tips to Reach Higher Salary:
• Learn cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
• Get certifications like Google Data Engineer, TensorFlow Developer,
or IBM AI Engineer
• Start freelancing/internships early
• Work on 3–5 real-world projects (host them on GitHub or Kaggle)
Remember one thing
Projects = JOBS
Final Motivation:
"It doesn't matter if you never touched a computer in school. If
you start now and stay consistent, you can easily become a high-
earning AI/ML or Data Engineer by 2030."
Thank You
