Build Your Own AI Systems & Models

Go from complete beginner to creating your own customized AI. Learn python, generative AI, machine learning, deep learning, data engineering, and cloud deployment as you build, train, fine-tune, and ship production-ready AI systems.

Rated 4.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot

6 Months

Average time students take to complete this career path.

Daniel BourkePatrik Szepesi+
Taught by: Daniel Bourke & Patrik Szepesi and 6 more
Last updated: September 2026
Join ZTM students at companies like these learning AI to stay ahead.

Your Step-By-Step Path

Complete this path and you'll:

  • Build a strong foundation in python, the primary programming language used for AI, machine learning, and data science
  • Understand how machine learning, deep learning, generative AI, and large language models work under the hood
  • Prepare, clean, analyze, and transform real-world data so it can be used to train reliable AI models
  • Train, evaluate, tune, and compare machine learning models using the right techniques and performance metrics
  • Build neural networks and deep learning models using industry-standard frameworks like PyTorch
  • Create computer vision, natural language processing, and transformer-based systems that solve real-world problems
  • Use the Hugging Face ecosystem to work with pretrained models, customize them for specific tasks, and deploy them into applications
  • Prepare custom datasets and fine-tune foundation models to produce better results for specialized use cases
  • Build production-ready AI applications using LLM APIs, LangChain, LangGraph, LangSmith, and other modern AI engineering tools
  • Make AI systems more accurate and useful by connecting LLMs to private, current, and domain-specific data with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
  • Design and deploy AI agents and multi-agent systems that can use tools, complete tasks, and automate complex workflows
  • Build the data pipelines and infrastructure needed to move, process, and prepare data for production AI systems
  • Deploy and scale AI models and applications using AWS Bedrock, SageMaker, Microsoft Foundry, and other cloud platforms
  • Run and deploy open-source AI models using local hardware, cloud GPUs, and self-hosted infrastructure
  • Use AI throughout the development process to write better code, debug problems, review quality, and work more efficiently
  • Build a portfolio of production-level AI projects that proves you can take an AI system from raw data and initial idea to a deployed product

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What ZTM students are saying

Our courses and community have helped 1,000s of Zero To Mastery students go from zero to getting hired to levelling up their skills and advancing their careers to new heights.

Rated 4.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot

Meet your instructors

Your instructors aren’t just experts with years of real-world professional experience. They have been in your shoes. They make learning fun. They make complex topics feel simple. They will motivate you. They will push you. And they go above and beyond to help you succeed.

Daniel Bourke

Machine Learning Instructor

Patrik Szepesi

Machine Learning and Generative AI Instructor

Ivan Mushketyk

Data Engineering & Practical AI

Andrei Neagoie

Lead Instructor

Still have questions?

Is this learning path suitable for complete beginners?

Yes. This path is designed to take you from no previous AI, machine learning, or programming experience to building and deploying real AI systems.

You will begin with the fundamentals, including Python, data, machine learning, and how AI models work. From there, you will progressively move into more advanced topics such as deep learning, generative AI, Retrieval-Augmented Generation, AI agents, data engineering, and cloud deployment.

The path is extensive and technically challenging, but you are not expected to understand any of these topics before you begin.

Do I need to know how to code before starting?

No. You will learn Python from the beginning as part of the path.

Python is the primary programming language used throughout modern AI, machine learning, and data science. You will learn how to write and understand Python code before using it to work with data, train models, build AI applications, and deploy complete systems.

Previous coding experience may help you progress more quickly, but it is not required.

How much math do I need to become an AI Engineer?

You do not need to be a math expert before starting this path.

AI Engineers benefit from understanding statistics, probability, linear algebra, and the mathematical concepts behind machine learning and neural networks. However, you don't need to master advanced mathematics to begin building.

You will learn the mathematical intuition and practical concepts you need as you progress. The emphasis is on understanding how and why different techniques work, then applying that knowledge to real AI systems rather than memorizing formulas without context.

What is the difference between an AI Engineer, a Machine Learning Engineer, and an AI Developer?

These titles often overlap, and different companies may define them differently.

An AI Developer usually focuses on building software that uses existing AI models, APIs, and tools. This could include adding an AI assistant, recommendation system, image-analysis feature, or automated workflow to an application.

An AI Engineer works across software development, machine learning, data, and infrastructure to build complete AI-powered systems. This can include working with large language models, RAG, AI agents, model evaluation, data pipelines, cloud services, and production deployment.

A Machine Learning Engineer typically focuses more deeply on preparing data, training and evaluating models, building machine learning pipelines, improving model performance, and deploying models reliably at scale.

This path develops skills that apply across all three roles, with the primary goal of preparing you for AI Engineer and Machine Learning Engineer opportunities.

What is the difference between this path and the Learn to Code with AI path?

The Learn to Code with AI path teaches you how to create websites, apps, automations, and AI-powered software. You learn coding fundamentals, professional development workflows, debugging, APIs, version control, deployment, and how to review and improve AI-generated code.

The Build The AI path goes deeper into how AI systems actually work. You will learn Python, machine learning, deep learning, data preparation, model training and evaluation, generative AI, data engineering, cloud infrastructure, and how to build and deploy production-level AI systems.

Choose Learn to Code with AI if your primary goal is to build software faster and more effectively with AI.

Choose Build The AI if your primary goal is to design, build, train, deploy, and improve AI systems and pursue a career as an AI or Machine Learning Engineer.

What will I be able to build after completing this path?

You will be able to take an AI project from an initial idea and raw data through development, evaluation, deployment, and improvement.

Depending on the courses and specializations you complete, you will build machine learning models, deep learning systems, computer vision applications, AI assistants, RAG applications, multi-agent systems, automated workflows, data pipelines, and cloud-based AI applications.

You will also learn how to connect models to real applications, work with private and domain-specific data, evaluate whether a system is producing useful results, and deploy projects so other people can use them.

Which programming languages, frameworks, and cloud platforms will I learn?

Python is the primary programming language used throughout the path.

You will work with tools and frameworks used across modern AI engineering, including PyTorch, Hugging Face, LangChain, LangGraph, LangSmith, CrewAI, Spark, Kafka, Airflow, and other technologies used to build AI applications and data pipelines.

You will also gain experience with cloud and deployment platforms such as AWS Bedrock, AWS SageMaker, Microsoft Foundry, cloud GPUs, and self-hosted open-source models.

The goal is not simply to memorize a list of tools. You will learn the underlying concepts and workflows so you can adapt as the AI engineering ecosystem evolves.

How long does it take to complete this path?

There is no fixed deadline. The path is entirely self-paced, and your completion time will depend on your previous experience, how many hours you study each week, and how much time you spend practicing and building projects.

Someone with previous software development, data science, or machine learning experience may move through the foundational material relatively quickly. A complete beginner studying part time should expect the path to take longer.

The goal should not be to finish every video as quickly as possible. Your priority should be developing the understanding, practical skills, and portfolio needed to demonstrate that you can build real AI systems.

Do I need to complete every course in the path?

No. The path provides a recommended sequence, but you can adapt it to your experience and career goals.

Complete beginners should generally follow the core courses in order because each stage builds on skills introduced earlier. More experienced students can move more quickly through familiar material.

Some courses are marked as optional and cover additional tools, platforms, or specializations. You can skip these, complete them later, or choose the ones most relevant to the type of AI Engineer you want to become.

What jobs can this path help prepare me for?

This path is primarily designed to help you build skills relevant to roles such as:

  • AI Engineer
  • Machine Learning Engineer
  • Generative AI Engineer
  • Applied AI Engineer
  • LLM Engineer
  • AI Application Developer

The exact roles you qualify for will depend on your previous experience, the projects you complete, the depth of your understanding, and the requirements of each employer.

Completing the path does not guarantee a job. It gives you a structured way to develop the technical skills, practical experience, portfolio, and interview preparation needed to become a competitive candidate.

Can I get hired as an AI Engineer without a computer science degree?

Yes, it is possible, but requirements vary between employers and roles.

Some employers require a computer science, engineering, mathematics, or related degree. Others place greater weight on demonstrated skills, professional experience, technical interviews, and the quality of your portfolio.

Without a related degree, it becomes especially important to show that you understand the fundamentals and can apply them. You should be prepared to demonstrate your ability to write code, work with data, select and evaluate models, explain technical decisions, and deploy complete AI systems.

The projects you build throughout this path are intended to help you provide that evidence.

What projects will I be able to include in my portfolio?

You will complete practical projects across Python, data science, machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, generative AI, RAG, AI agents, data engineering, and cloud deployment.

Rather than including every exercise and project you'll complete as part of the courses in the path, your portfolio should feature a smaller number of your strongest projects.

Each project should clearly explain:

  • The problem you were trying to solve
  • The data, models, and tools you used
  • How you designed and evaluated the system
  • The technical decisions and tradeoffs you made
  • The challenges you encountered and how you solved them
  • How someone can view, test, or use the finished project

A strong portfolio should prove that you can do more than follow a tutorial or copy and paste some code. It should show that you can make decisions, solve problems, and take an AI system from an initial idea to a working result.

But don't worry, we're going to teach you how to do all of that step-by-step.

What support will I receive when I get stuck?

You will receive access to the private ZTM community discord server, where you can learn alongside students, developers, alumni, mentors, teaching assistants, and instructors from around the world.

You can ask technical questions, get help with exercises, discuss difficult concepts, receive feedback on projects, join study groups, and learn from people with different levels of experience.

Most importantly, questions are not limited to being answered by other beginners. ZTM instructors, mentors, teaching assistants, alumni, and experienced professionals actively participate in the community and help students work through problems.

This support can be especially valuable in AI engineering, where small issues involving code, data, environments, dependencies, models, or cloud services can otherwise leave you stuck for hours.

Will the courses be updated as AI technology changes?

Yes. The courses included in the path are updated by our instructors as AI models, frameworks, platforms, and industry practices evolve.

AI engineering continues to evolve quickly, but importantly, this path doesn't focus only on the latest most popular tool. Instead, you will also learn transferable skills such as programming, working with data, model evaluation, system design, debugging, deployment, and understanding how AI systems work.

You'll still also learn to learn the latest tools and models but these foundational skills will make it easier for you to adapt when new models, frameworks, and tools are introduced.

Lifetime access to the path also includes future updates and improvements made to the courses.

Will I receive certificates of completion?

Yes. You can earn a certificate of completion for each ZTM course you finish.

You can add your certificates to your resume, LinkedIn profile, or portfolio. They provide evidence that you completed structured training across the different subjects included in the path.

However, certificates should support your portfolio rather than replace it. Employers will generally be more interested in whether you can explain, build, evaluate, and deploy AI systems than in the certificate alone.

What is included with lifetime access?

When you purchase the Build The AI path, you make a single payment and receive ongoing access to all current and future courses, projects, learning materials, and updates included in that path.

There are no subscription renewals or deadlines for completing the material. You can learn at your own pace and return to the courses whenever you need to refresh a skill or review an updated section.

Lifetime access to this individual path is different from ZTM's complete Lifetime Academy membership. The ZTM Academy Lifetime membership provides access to ZTM's entire course library and all career paths.

What happens if I join and decide it isn’t right for me?

Well, first of all, we'll be very sad. But we're reasonable people so we provide a no questions asked 30-day money back guarantee.

Just email support within 30 days of purchasing and they'll provide you a refund. So stop procrastinating, you've got nothing to lose!

So start the path, explore the courses, and decide whether the teaching style, curriculum, projects, and community are right for you. We're confident you're going to love it.