Using AI to Plan My Career Pivot

The Problem

I’m an interior designer trying to break into AI creative technology.

On paper, this makes no sense.

Interior design:

• Physical spaces
• Client relationships
• Aesthetic judgment
• Material constraints

AI Creative Tech:

• Digital products
• Code and automation
• Technical implementation
• AI orchestration

These fields seem completely unrelated.

Except they’re not.

The Realization

After building Artifactum—a complete murder mystery game in 2 weeks using Claude, Sora, Gemini, and Python automation—I realized something:

I’m not just someone who dabbles with AI tools.

I orchestrate them. I direct them. I use them to build complete creative experiences.

That’s not “knowing how to use ChatGPT.” That’s a different skill entirely.

But what’s the job title for that? Where are these companies? What do they actually pay? How do I position my weird background as an asset instead of a liability?

I had no idea.

The Solution: AI-Powered Strategic Research

Here’s what I did:

I asked Claude to research my entire career transition.

Not “give me some job suggestions.” Not “write me a resume.”

I asked for:

• Complete European market analysis for AI creative tech roles
• Specific role profiles matching my background
• Target companies prioritized by remote-friendliness and cultural fit
• Portfolio optimization strategies
• Application tactics for career changers
• A concrete 90-day action plan

The result: A 15,000-word strategic research report that I would have paid thousands for from a career consultant.

Read the full report →

What I Learned

1. The Market Is Exploding

AI Creative Technologist roles are growing 100-200%+ across Europe.

Germany: +109% in AI job postings
UK: +120%
Ireland: +204%

And 89% offer remote or hybrid options.

This means I can access UK/German/Dutch salaries (€55k-€85k) while staying in Lisbon.

I had no idea this opportunity existed.

2. “Prompt Engineering” Is Dead

Remember when everyone said “Prompt Engineer” was the hot new job?

It’s not. That role collapsed in 2024.

Job postings dropped 80-90% from the 2022 peak. The few remaining positions pay far less than the “$375k” headlines suggested.

Why? AI models got too good. GPT-4, Claude, and Gemini can now optimize their own prompts faster than humans can iterate.

What replaced it: Broader roles that require actual creative + technical hybrid skills:

• AI Creative Technologist (my target)
• AI Product Designer
• AI Experience Designer
• Conversation Designer
• Interactive Developer

These roles need people who can build complete experiences, not just write better prompts.

That’s exactly what Artifactum proved I can do.

3. My Interior Design Background Is Actually an Advantage

This was the revelation.

What interior design taught me:

• How environments affect human emotion and behavior
• Balancing aesthetics with functionality
• Managing complex constraints (budget, space, materials)
• Translating abstract client needs into concrete solutions
• Visual communication and aesthetic judgment

How this applies to AI creative tech:

• Understanding user experience in designed environments (physical → digital)
• Spatial thinking applied to interface and interaction design
• Creative problem-solving under constraints (time, technology, scope)
• Client collaboration skills (user research, product thinking)
• Design literacy that pure engineers lack

The narrative shift: This isn’t a random career pivot. It’s a strategic evolution applying the same core skills to a different medium.

The Companies

Claude identified 15 target companies prioritized by remote-friendliness and cultural fit.

Top tier:

• ElevenLabs (voice AI, fully remote, $6.6B valuation)
• Stability AI (creators of Stable Diffusion, 100% remote in Europe)
• Media.Monks (8,600+ digital professionals, major clients)
• HuggingFace (remote-first, AI model hub)

What they’re looking for:

• Portfolio demonstrating shipped products
• Hands-on AI fluency (Midjourney, Runway, Claude, Stable Diffusion)
• Technical + creative hybrid ability
• Python proficiency for automation
• Storytelling skills
• Remote work capabilities

What I have: Artifactum proves all of this.

The 90-Day Action Plan

Claude didn’t just give me research. It gave me a concrete execution plan.

Weeks 1-2: Portfolio Enhancement

• Transform Artifactum into comprehensive case study
• Create process video showing workflow
• Optimize GitHub profile
• Set up social presence (Twitter, LinkedIn)

Weeks 3-6: Portfolio Expansion

• Build AI interior visualization tool (leverages my unique background)
• Create detailed “making of” documentation
• Write 3 blog posts establishing thought leadership
• Build in public on Twitter

Weeks 7-10: Application Sprint

• Research top 20 companies deeply
• Execute “backdoor strategy” (connect with employees before applying)
• Customize portfolio for 3 role types
• Apply to 15 targeted positions

Months 3-6: Scaling

• Open source contributions
• Conference attendance (TechEx Europe, AI Rush)
• Third portfolio piece based on interview feedback
• Active interview processes

Target: First offers around month 5-6.

What Makes This Different

This Isn’t Generic Career Advice

Claude didn’t give me “10 tips for job searching” or “how to write a resume.”

It gave me:

• Specific salary ranges by country
• Actual company names with hiring insights
• Cultural fit analysis
• Application strategies for my exact background
• Portfolio tactics for AI creatives
• Weekly milestones with success metrics

This is strategic intelligence I couldn’t have gathered alone.

The AI Collaboration Model

I didn’t just ask “What jobs should I apply for?”

I gave Claude:

• My complete background (interior design → Artifactum)
• My constraints (Lisbon-based, prefer remote)
• My skills (AI orchestration, Python, creative direction)
• My goals (€55k-€85k, creative + technical hybrid role)

Then I asked it to think strategically.

The result: A research report that understands my specific situation and provides actionable intelligence.

The Honest Part

What AI Can’t Do

Claude can’t:

• Make the career change for me
• Guarantee I’ll get hired
• Replace networking and relationship-building
• Predict which companies will actually respond
• Know if I’ll succeed

I still have to:

• Build the portfolio pieces
• Make the connections
• Write the applications
• Do the interviews
• Execute the plan

But what it enabled: Starting with strategic intelligence instead of blind guessing.

Why I’m Sharing This Publicly

Reason 1: Building in Public

Documenting this journey creates visibility. Recruiters might find this post. People in my network might make connections. Sharing the process is part of the strategy.

Reason 2: Demonstrating AI Collaboration Skills

Using AI for strategic research is exactly the kind of thinking Creative Technologist roles require. This post is part of my portfolio.

Reason 3: It Might Help Someone Else

If you’re making an unconventional career transition, this shows:

• How to use AI for strategic planning
• How to position non-traditional backgrounds
• How to research emerging job markets
• How to create concrete action plans

Reason 4: Accountability

Publishing this plan makes me more likely to execute it. Now it’s out there.

What Happens Next

I’m executing this plan starting now.

You can follow along:

• Weekly progress updates on Twitter/LinkedIn
• Portfolio pieces published as they’re built
• Application insights and interview experiences
• Behind-the-scenes of the job search process

This is an experiment in:

• Using AI for life-changing strategic decisions
• Turning unconventional backgrounds into competitive advantages
• Building in public during career transition
• Documenting what actually works (and what doesn’t)

The Meta Layer

Here’s the irony: Using Claude to plan my career transition into AI creative tech is itself a demonstration of the exact skills these roles require.

I didn’t just use AI. I:

• Identified what strategic intelligence I needed
• Structured the research questions effectively
• Directed Claude to produce actionable insights
• Synthesized the results into a concrete plan
• Documented the process transparently

That’s AI Creative Technology work.

Companies want people who can use AI to solve complex problems and communicate the results clearly.

This post is the proof.

For Other Career Changers

If you’re trying to break into a new field:

Try this approach:

1. Give an AI (Claude, ChatGPT, etc.) your complete situation
2. Ask for strategic market research, not generic advice
3. Request specific companies, salary data, and tactics
4. Demand a concrete action plan with milestones
5. Iterate until you have actionable intelligence

This works because:

• AI can process more market data than you can manually research
• It can identify patterns you might miss
• It provides structured frameworks for complex decisions
• It gives you a starting point instead of blank-page paralysis

But remember: AI provides intelligence. You provide execution.

The Timeline

Research: Complete ✅
Portfolio enhancement: In progress
Application sprint: Starting Week 7
First interviews: Target Month 3-4
First offers: Target Month 5-6

Ask me in 6 months if this worked.

Read the Full Report

This post is the personal narrative. The full strategic report includes:

• Complete market analysis
• Detailed role breakdowns
• Company research and priorities
• Portfolio optimization frameworks
• Application strategies
• 90-day action plan with weekly tasks

Read the complete strategic research →

Note: This is part of my “building with AI” documentation series. The report was created using Claude as a research partner. The career transition is real. The execution starts now.

Follow #career-transition for updates.

Let’s see what happens when you use AI to plan your entire career pivot. 🚀✨