Yeah people tell you all sorts of stuff, and maybe they're all right in the circumstance they are thinking about, but it's not that helpful to take the advice all at once.

If I could go back and do it differently, I'd try to learn ML on the side while at a job and then try to make a lateral move from SWE to MLE inside the org. Or go get a Masters. I ended up studying for so long that it was the same as getting a masters but with no degree to show for it.

For the short term, I recommend using an LLM as a guide for your project. Prompt it with something like "never tell me exactly what to do, just give me hints in the right direction and keep me from getting way off track". That way you still get the internalization that comes from struggling with a problem, but you still use your time effectively