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Ask HN: Internships for a 13-year-old?

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Re: Ask HN: Internships for a 13-year-old?

#11

Post by smt88 »

Once you get to college, you're going to realize that you'll never have a vacation like you did when you were young. Real life starts and it never ends until you die.

Spend your summer doing something that you love. If that's coding, do that, and don't worry about getting paid for it yet. Also don't worry about building your resume -- you can start doing that when you're 14, if your heart is really set on it.

No one looks back on their life and thinks, "I wish I'd spent more summers working when I was a teenager." If they're lucky, instead they'll think, "I wish I could go back to those summers and really appreciate them for what they were: the last time I really didn't have to worry about anything."

For some perspective, I worked for software companies as a teenager and it hasn't helped me at all in my career. It wasn't worth the time, although having money was nice. But I don't remember the money now or what I did with it.

Re: Ask HN: Internships for a 13-year-old?

#14

Post by smt88 »

isaacdl wrote: post #10
mathgeek wrote: post #8

Maybe not the most popular opinion here, or maybe it will be, but advice from a father of two boys: Enjoy your childhood for the remaining 3-5 years before worrying so much about your professional career. You have decades of working in software ahead of you, if you continue on that path. Just enjoy your childhood, go out and play, or even just work on projects you enjoy. Once your childhood is gone, you'll regret not…

It's easy to romanticize "carefree childhood", but I think that's baloney. I've loved working with computers for literally as long as I can remember. When I was 13, working with computers was playing! Getting paid to play would have been a dream come true for me at that age.

I've loved it, too, but I don't look back and treasure my countless hours coding. It's great to have a skill, but the things I remember are time I spent with my family and friends.

Re: Ask HN: Internships for a 13-year-old?

#15

Post by wdewind »

isaacdl wrote: post #10
mathgeek wrote: post #8

Maybe not the most popular opinion here, or maybe it will be, but advice from a father of two boys: Enjoy your childhood for the remaining 3-5 years before worrying so much about your professional career. You have decades of working in software ahead of you, if you continue on that path. Just enjoy your childhood, go out and play, or even just work on projects you enjoy. Once your childhood is gone, you'll regret not…

It's easy to romanticize "carefree childhood", but I think that's baloney. I've loved working with computers for literally as long as I can remember. When I was 13, working with computers was playing! Getting paid to play would have been a dream come true for me at that age.

Yeah, same. While it's important that kids aren't forced into working, I think it's just as important to recognize that some kids are genuinely excited by the field and by the prospect of getting to work with people who can help them develop their skills. It doesn't have to be some soul crushing thing. Starting work early gave me a sense of self-worth that is irreplaceable and I can't count how many times I heard from adults "just be a kid, don't worry about all that!" I have no regrets, working early was exciting, self-fulfilling and gave me a lot of freedom in life much earlier that many of my peers.

Re: Ask HN: Internships for a 13-year-old?

#16

Post by smt88 »

theklub wrote: post #6

Lie about your age and work online.

This is a very, very bad idea in the US. As a 13-year-old, you can't legally sign a contract, and that has serious implications for both parties as well as your parents.

Edit: comment below is correct, please disregard what I said (although it's still a very bad idea to trick people into signing a contract with you).

Re: Ask HN: Internships for a 13-year-old?

#17

Post by walshie4 »

I would advise continuing to work on skills using the insane amount of online resources available. While also working to build up an open-source profile of side-projects. Side projects not only show that you truly do enjoy developing, but they also provide a great tangible means for exemplifying your skills. You have a great jump on learning these skills but because of your age you will need tangible proof that you have real skill. Because of this I think open-source side projects are a perfect fit. They're fun, hone your skills, and prove you can create (and maintain, document, etc.) a software system.

Oh and I can't agree enough with all the people saying savor the time. I can remember countless days where I was 'bored' stiff all day, while nowadays I find myself dreaming of being able to not have to sleep daily so I could fit in even more hours for projects, both personal and professional.

I firmly believe that as you age your perceived notion of time passing only accelerates.

Re: Ask HN: Internships for a 13-year-old?

#18

Post by wdewind »

smt88 wrote: post #11

Once you get to college, you're going to realize that you'll never have a vacation like you did when you were young. Real life starts and it never ends until you die. Spend your summer doing something that you love. If that's coding, do that, and don't worry about getting paid for it yet. Also don't worry about building your resume -- you can start doing that when you're 14, if your heart is really set on it. No one…

Counter-perspective: I do wish I'd spent more summers working in software. Going to camp and doing regular kid things made me miserable. Working for software companies as a teenager absolutely helped me in my career, and it was absolutely worth the time.

Re: Ask HN: Internships for a 13-year-old?

#19

Post by danso »

Honestly, what's the point of you having an internship right now? You'll have plenty of time to get work experience. More importantly, you are already far ahead of the game. The apps you've built show not just an impressive range of programming/design knowledge, but more importantly, knowledge of purpose -- why we build things, why we do things --...which is something 23-year-olds often lack, nevermind 13-year-olds.

You seem to have your own DIY-initiative and an ability to learn independently and execute. It seems like an internship would add little to that, and at the same time, there's the opportunity cost: what would you have built on your own outside of that structured internship time?

(nevermind the risk of burning out early, and regretting not having a more carefree adolescence)

Re: Ask HN: Internships for a 13-year-old?

#20

Post by dragonwriter »

smt88 wrote: post #16
theklub wrote: post #6

Lie about your age and work online.

This is a very, very bad idea in the US. As a 13-year-old, you can't legally sign a contract, and that has serious implications for both parties as well as your parents. Edit: comment below is correct, please disregard what I said (although it's still a very bad idea to trick people into signing a contract with you).

> As a 13-year-old, you can't legally sign a contract, and that has serious implications for both parties as well as your parents.

That's not generally true, in US jurisdictions; minors can legally enter into contracts, but contracts with minors outside of certain limits are generally voidable at the option of the minor. And a number of states have additional rules which provide conditions which allow some contracts of minors which would otherwise be voidable to be binding if certain procedural steps are taken.

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