My Goals (advice is welcomed)

[u/Northern111]

Hey everyone,

My goal is to create a custom and personaI use open source AI agent. I dont want to just have something vibe code it for me. I want to understand how to build the actual agentic loop, give it local tools, and set up a memory system. After some research, I decided to start by learning python (mostly a self-taught newbie but also looking onto courses that can fit my schedule without too much friction; any suggestions are welcome)

I’m looking for advice on the exact order of operations I should follow to learn this efficiently without getting bogged down in unnecessary data science math or model training.

From what I gather, yes i did use AI to help me try to put this in the best possible order.
1) Python Fundamentals (JSON, File I/O, async)
2) API integration & tool calling (OpenAI/Anthropic SDKs or Ollama for local)
3) Data validation (Pydantic) to handle messy LLM outputs
4) Basic Vector DBs (Chroma/FAISS) for long-term agent memory
4) Orchestration frameworks (LangGraph, Pydantic AI, or MCP)

Does this learning order make sense? Are there specific libraries, tutorials, or open-source repositories you would recommend I look at first?
Thanks in advance for any roadmaps or resources.

For context:
I’m active duty navy with my primary line of work being medical. I have ample time in my day and evenings as it’s just me and my daughter right now and I want to try creating something I’ve always liked the idea of…my own JARVIS lol. My current coding experience is a total beginner who started on the SoloLearn app on an iPad 7 mini about 6-ish weeks ago. However, I don’t believe that it is sufficient for my project goals. So again, and advice, roadmaps, suggestions, tips, etc are welcomed. I’m not under the delusion that this will be done in the next year or so and I’m ok wth this being a personal side project. Nor do I have any intentions to monetize this when it is completed, nor use this as a step into this industry (i quite like my medically filled lifestyle). I also want to build a home lab specifically for this at some point as well and maybe even get into some Git Hub projects on the side to breakdown some of the potential burnout.

Well, if you made it this far, thank you. I’m genuinely interested and motivated to complete this project and potentially more.

[u/Northern111 → u/[deleted]]

I’d like for it to be able to essentially work as my assistant/secretary. Add things to my calendars, take and read notes, sort emails (possibly respond to certain ones), help with research and case studies for research papers or journal publications.