And before AI, the projects I came up with might not have been the BEST or life-changing but they were the result of me hyper-focusing on something niche for an inordinate amount of time. Which inevitably meant I learned a lot AND anyone who saw that had a predictable reaction "that's so cool, you need a life, but still cool". And I've interpreted that as a recognition of skill and care. On occasion that has even landed me opportunities that I didn't even know existed.

These days I find myself wondering if there's anything that isn't a prompt (or a few hundred) away. And if it is, what would make my skills valuable or even visible. Specifically in the context of soon becoming an ex-student, current struggling new-grad, I keep wondering what signals indicate skills to an outsider (and not a SKILLS.MD). A resume by itself is quickly becoming deceptive with most projects just being the product of barking at a model with half-baked ideas until something resembling a working prototype comes out.

To be clear, I'm not a pessimist. I don't think its time to till the fields for our overlords. I'm trying to understand what advice people think is still applicable and what is a relic that needs a patch or two.

TL;DR: AI projects are impressive but don't always indicate skills. How do i signal skills and not just ideas and prototypes?