Hey everyone! I'm about six months into my Python and software engineering journey. I've built several small projects and have a handle on the basics. I've explored topics like web scraping, created some simple Flask apps, and done data manipulation with pandas. Right now, I'm at a crossroads and I'm curious about the best next steps. My long-term goals are to build and launch SaaS products either solo or with a small team, create AI agents that can intelligently interact with data, and become a skilled software engineer before diving deeper into advanced AI work.
I'm looking for advice on a few things:
- What areas of software engineering should I focus on next to create scalable SaaS products?
- How can I transition from learning to building real, usable applications?
- When should I consider diving into AI/ML development?
- How can I tell if I'm 'ready' for complex systems?
If anyone has experience in this area and would be open to mentoring—even informally—I'd greatly appreciate it! Just having someone to bounce ideas off would be awesome. Thanks for any thoughts, advice, or resources you can share!
1 Answer
Don't rush into AI just yet! If building SaaS is your goal, focus on backend frameworks like FastAPI or Django, and get comfortable with databases such as PostgreSQL and SQLAlchemy. Also, learn some basic DevOps—think Docker and deploying your apps. Try creating a real, functional tool (maybe a dashboard) that someone can actively use. That experience will be invaluable! Once you’re proficient at building and deploying applications, then it's a good time to explore AI agents, starting with simpler tasks.
Thanks for the advice! I’ve worked a bit with Flask and Django, but which one do you think is better for app creation?