Stride (Async Avengers)

The Problem (Why we built this)

PS: THIS WAS AN HACKATHON PROJECT built in a group of 4 people Let’s be real: choosing a career in 2026 is overwhelming. You search "How to become an AI Engineer" and get 50 different roadmaps, 100 YouTube playlists, and a headache. Most people have the ambition, but they get lost in the "vague middle"—they don't know what to do today to reach a goal two years from now.

We built this to bridge the gap between "I want to be X" and "Here is your Trello board for the week."

What it actually does

1. Stop the Overwhelm: You take a quick quiz about what you like (and what you're good at).
2. Smart Match: We don't just show a list; we give you a "Fit Score" for different careers.
3. The Roadmap (The "Trello" Part): Once you pick a career, our AI generates a step-by-step Kanban board. It breaks the massive journey into:

• Basics (The "don't quit yet" phase)
• Intermediate (The "getting serious" phase)
• Advanced (The "portfolio" phase)
• Career Launch (The "get paid" phase)

4. Forecasting: It tracks your pace. If you’re slacking, it tells you. If you’re crushing it, it predicts when you'll actually be "job-ready."

The Tech Stack

• Backend: Node.js (v22) + Express (Modular structure)
• Database: PostgreSQL + Sequelize ORM
• AI: Gemini API (for roadmap generation)
• Frontend: React + Tailwind CSS

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How to get this running locally

1. Clone it:

git clone https://github.com/your-username/careerforge-ai.git
cd server

2. Install stuff:

npm install

3. Environment Variables (.env): Create a .env file in the root of the /server folder. You’ll need:

PORT=5000
DB_NAME=your_db_name
DB_USER=your_postgres_user
DB_PASS=your_password
DB_HOST=localhost
GEMINI_API_KEY=your_key_here

4. Database Sync: The models are set to alter: true, so just start the server and the tables will create themselves.
5. Start Dev Mode:

npm start

(If it crashes with a MODULE_NOT_FOUND error, make sure you aren't trying to run index.js when your main file is server.js!)

Current Status

This is a hackathon MVP. The "Fit Score" is basic math right now, and the AI roadmaps are generated on the fly. We're focusing on making the Trello board drag-and-drop experience feel smooth.

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Async Avengers Team: "Turning 'I don't know' into 'I'm on it'." 🚀

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Should I add a "Contributing" section or a list of the specific API endpoints you've built so far?