Comment by brudgers

For better or worse, direct professional experience in a professional setting is the only way to learn anything to a professional level.

That doesn't mean one-eyed-king knowledge is never enough to solve that chicken-and-egg. You only have to be good enough to get the job.

But if you haven't done it on the job, you don't have work experience and you are either lying to others or lying to yourself...and any sophisticated organization won't fall for it...

...except of course, knowingly. And the best way to get someone to knowingly ignore obvious dunning-kruger and/or horseshit is to know that someone personally or professionally.

Which is to say that the best way to get a good job is to have a good relationship with someone who can hire you for a good job (nepotism trumps technical ability, always). And the best way to find a good job is to know a lot of people who want to work with you.

To put it another way, looking for a job is the only way to find a job and looking for a job is also much much harder than everything that avoids looking for a job (like studying CUDA) by pretending to be preparation...because again, studying CUDA won't ever give you professional experience.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with learning CUDA all on your own. But it is not professional experience and it is not looking for a job doing CUDA.

Finally, if you want to learn CUDA just learn it for its own sake without worrying about a job. Learning things for their own sake is the nature of learning once you get out of school.

Good luck.