"Get into AI" is vague advice. There are several quite different AI jobs, and the right one depends on what you enjoy and what you already know. This post explains five common entry routes in plain words, gives you one prompt that matches you to a role, and shares the only salary numbers we could source from a published report.
What you need
A free ChatGPT account. The prompt works on the free plan. Any other chatbot (Claude, Gemini) works too.
10 minutes to answer five questions honestly.
A free GitHub account to publish your 30-day project.
The five roles, simply
GenAI / AI application developer. Builds products on top of large language models: chatbots, document search (RAG), AI agents. Strong coding (usually Python or JavaScript), APIs, and testing whether outputs are right.
Machine learning engineer. Trains, tunes and deploys models on a company's own data. Needs Python, statistics, libraries like scikit-learn or PyTorch, and solid software engineering.
Data engineer. Builds the pipelines that collect, clean and move data so AI and analytics can use it. SQL, Python, cloud data tools. Every AI team needs this.
Data / AI analyst. Answers business questions with data, increasingly using AI tools. SQL, spreadsheets, a BI tool and clear communication. A common first job for people who like business problems more than heavy coding.
MLOps / AI platform engineer. Keeps models running reliably in production: deployment, monitoring, cost. Cloud, Docker, CI/CD and Linux. Good fit if you like infrastructure.
Step by step
Open a new ChatGPT chat and paste the prompt below.
Answer the five questions it asks, one message at a time. Be specific: name subjects, projects and tools.
Read the match and the skills gap. Ask follow-up questions if any skill is unclear.
Do the 30-day project and push it to GitHub with a clear README.
Re-run the prompt after 30 days to see what has changed.
You are a practical career coach for Indian engineering graduates. Help me pick ONE of these five AI career paths:
1. GenAI / AI application developer
2. Machine learning engineer
3. Data engineer
4. Data / AI analyst
5. MLOps / AI platform engineer
Ask me these five questions ONE AT A TIME. Wait for my answer before asking the next:
Q1. What is your branch and year, and which subjects did you enjoy or score best in?
Q2. Which languages and tools have you actually used (e.g. Python, SQL, Excel, Git, cloud), and how comfortable are you with each from 1 to 5?
Q3. Describe one project you built or contributed to. What part did you enjoy most?
Q4. Which sounds most fun: building apps people use, working with maths and models, organising messy data, finding business insights, or keeping systems running?
Q5. How many hours a week can you study for the next 30 days, and do you have a laptop that can run Python?
After all five answers, reply with:
A) Best-fit role and second-best role, each with 2-3 reasons tied to MY answers.
B) A skills gap table for the best-fit role with columns: Skill | My current level (1-5) | Level needed for an entry job (1-5) | Free resource to learn it.
C) A 30-day project plan for the best-fit role, broken into 4 weeks, sized to my weekly hours. The project must use only free tools and public data, end in a working demo on GitHub, and be something I can explain in an interview.
D) Three interview questions I should be ready to answer about this project.
Rules: Be honest if my skills are far from the role. Do not invent salary figures, job guarantees or course names you are not sure exist. Keep the language simple.What do these jobs pay?
Pay varies a lot by company, city and skill, and most "fresher salary" lists online are not sourced. The most recent published report we found is TeamLease Digital's Digital Skills & Salary Primer FY2026-27 (September 2026):
GenAI developer: about Rs 11.2 lakh a year at 0 to 2 years of experience, rising to about Rs 34.5 lakh at 6 to 8 years.
Data engineer: from about Rs 9.1 lakh a year at the lower end of the range, up to about Rs 29.6 lakh.
The same report says GenAI, ML and data science roles reach Rs 31 to 35 lakh by 6 to 8 years, and estimates India's GenAI skills gap at about 53%.
Treat these as averages from one report, not offers. Many freshers start lower, especially outside big tech hubs or in service companies.
Good to know
The chatbot only knows what you tell it. Vague answers give a vague match.
AI suggestions about courses and resources can be wrong. Check that a resource exists before you sign up, and prefer official docs and free university courses.
One finished project you can explain beats five half-done tutorials. Interviewers will ask why you made each choice.
Do not paste personal details like your phone number, Aadhaar or college ID into the chat. They are not needed.
Sources
YourStory: India faces 53-60% talent gap in GenAI, cloud skills, TeamLease Digital report (Sep 2026)
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