Emerging Technologies Skill

Quick Reference

Emerging Tech Paths

Prompt Engineering

[1] Basic Prompting (3-5 days)
 │  └─ Clear instructions, context
 │
 ▼
[2] Few-shot Learning (3-5 days)
 │  └─ Examples, patterns
 │
 ▼
[3] Chain-of-Thought (3-5 days)
 │  └─ Step-by-step reasoning
 │
 ▼
[4] Structured Output (3-5 days)
 │  └─ JSON, schemas, validation
 │
 ▼
[5] Optimization (ongoing)
    └─ Evaluation, iteration

Key Techniques:

AI Agents (2025 Hot Skill)

[1] LLM Fundamentals (1 wk)
 │  └─ Tokens, embeddings, context
 │
 ▼
[2] Tool Calling (1 wk)
 │  └─ Function definitions, execution
 │
 ▼
[3] Agent Architecture (2 wk)
 │  └─ Perceive-Reason-Act loop
 │
 ▼
[4] Error Handling (1 wk)
 │  └─ Retries, fallbacks, guardrails
 │
 ▼
[5] Production Deploy (ongoing)
    └─ Monitoring, evaluation

Agent Architecture:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│            AGENTIC LOOP                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  1. PERCEIVE: Observe, gather context   │
│         │                                │
│         ▼                                │
│  2. REASON: LLM decides next action     │
│         │                                │
│         ▼                                │
│  3. ACT: Execute tools/APIs             │
│         │                                │
│         ▼                                │
│  4. REFLECT: Evaluate, update strategy  │
│         │                                │
│         └─► Loop until goal or max      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Design Patterns (Anthropic 2025):

AI Red Teaming

[1] LLM Security Basics (1-2 wk)
 │  └─ Attack surfaces, vulnerabilities
 │
 ▼
[2] Adversarial Prompting (2 wk)
 │  └─ Jailbreaks, prompt injection
 │
 ▼
[3] Bias Testing (2 wk)
 │  └─ Demographic probes, fairness
 │
 ▼
[4] Safety Evaluation (2 wk)
    └─ Guardrails, alignment testing

Techniques:

Leadership Paths

Product Management

Timeline: 3-6 months transition

Core Responsibilities:

1. Vision & Strategy
2. User Research
3. Feature Prioritization
4. Roadmapping
5. Success Metrics

Key Skills:

Frameworks:

• Prioritization: RICE, MoSCoW, Kano
• Discovery: Jobs-to-be-Done, Design Sprints
• Metrics: AARRR, North Star

Engineering Management

Timeline: 3-6 months transition

Responsibilities:

1. Hire & develop engineers
2. 1:1s and feedback
3. Remove blockers
4. Set goals and vision
5. Team culture and health

Key Skills:

Common Challenges:

• Letting go of coding
• Difficult conversations
• Managing former peers
• Up vs down management

Developer Relations

Timeline: 2-3 months transition

Responsibilities:

1. Community engagement
2. Content creation
3. Developer advocacy
4. Feedback gathering
5. Trust building

Content Types:

Career Transitions

Leadership Ladder

Individual Contributor (0-2 yr)
         │
         ▼
Lead / Senior (2-5 yr)
         │
         ▼
Manager (5+ yr)
         │
    ┌────┴────┐
    ▼         ▼
IC Track   Management Track
(Staff,    (Director,
Principal) VP, CTO)

Troubleshooting

Want to transition to PM?
├─► Build product sense: analyze products you use
├─► Get experience: side projects, internal transfers
├─► Learn frameworks: RICE, user research
└─► Network: talk to PMs, understand their day

Want to become a manager?
├─► Start mentoring: lead projects, help juniors
├─► Build soft skills: communication, feedback
├─► Understand: you're not coding anymore
└─► Talk to: your manager about the path

AI agent not working?
├─► Tool definitions clear? → Improve docs
├─► Context window full? → Summarize
├─► Looping forever? → Add max iterations
└─► Wrong tools called? → Improve routing

Common Failure Modes

Next Actions

Specify your interest area (emerging tech or leadership) for detailed guidance.