@dunik_7: AI engineers are clearing $250K+ in 2026, and almost none of it comes from training models. it comes from one skill: bu…
Summary
Discusses how top AI engineers earn $250K+ by building systems around models rather than training them, with a breakdown of key skills like memory systems, harnesses, loop engineering, and tracing.
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AI engineers are clearing $250K+ in 2026, and almost none of it comes from training models.
it comes from one skill: building the system that wraps around the model.
this 19-minute breakdown is that entire skill, start to finish.
1:52 the memory system that stops your agent repeating the same mistake
3:37 what a “harness” actually is (the word everyone throws around wrong)
10:52 loop engineering, and the guardrail that tells the loop when to stop
15:55 tracing every run so you can see exactly what broke
16:43 using an LLM as a judge to grade your own agent
watch it, then read the full Claude-first roadmap below.
Martin (@0x_meden): AI engineers are pulling 250K-450K in 2026, and most of them can’t train a model from scratch.
Karpathy explained why in 39 minutes at Y Combinator: the model became a commodity, and the system around it became the whole job.
4:40 why “programming in English” replaced writing
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