Why Certificates Aren't Enough
A certificate demonstrates that you completed a course. It doesn't demonstrate that you can build something that works, debug it when it doesn't, or make sound tradeoffs under real constraints. Employers increasingly know the difference.
What a Strong AI Portfolio Actually Contains
A strong portfolio has a small number of substantial, well-documented projects rather than many shallow ones. Each project should show the problem, the approach, what did not work initially, and how it was resolved.
Choosing the Right Projects
Pick projects that map to the specific role you are targeting. A RAG system and an evaluation suite matter more for a GenAI Engineer role; a deployment pipeline and monitoring setup matter more for an MLOps role.
Presenting Your Work
A short, clear write-up — problem, approach, results, what you would do differently — is more persuasive than a large, undocumented codebase. Reviewers spend limited time per candidate; make the judgment easy for them.