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Ask HN: What is the best way to spend my time as a 17-year-old who can code?

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Re: Ask HN: What is the best way to spend my time as a 17-year-old who can code?

#171

Post by swift »

bittermang wrote: post #22

I was 17 once. I could code once. What's the best way to spend your time? Basking in the sun. Finding a scam to score some schnapps or beer or weed. Telling somebody you love them, and just going for it. Recklessly driving a car at a high rate of speed down an old country road. Learn how to play a bass guitar. Spend your waning hours getting your hands dirty while there's still time, and before the world judges you t…

This is genuinely good advice.

I'm a bit surprised that so many commenters here are reacting to the second paragraph as if it described an extreme lifestyle that would inevitably lead to ruin, or as if you need to make a choice between having these kinds of experiences and being a successful, fulfilled adult later in life. Neither of those things are true.

Here's what I believe the parent post is saying, but stated differently: try all the things that life has to offer, and get outside your comfort zone. Let yourself make mistakes. Explore. Try to connect with many different kinds of people, especially people who aren't like you. Push the boundaries a little. When you find something you're passionate about, dive in, but be sure to come up for air regularly and enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

Don't let the anxieties or negativity of others stop you. If you do those things, I promise you you won't regret it.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best way to spend my time as a 17-year-old who can code?

#172

Post by dogruck »

wai1234 wrote: post #114
dogruck wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read the subject line and essentially the same reply popped into my head. :-) I won't disagree that the most important thing is to enjoy life, meet people who have real problems that need solving, and to build relationships that could last a lifetime. That said, I spent a lot of time on the computer when I was 17 (and 18, 19, ....). I still draw upon that experience today. Sometimes, when I solve a problem or fix a…

Never, I mean NEVER, intern for free. You will almost certainly be the equivalent of 'drink run boy' and learn nothing. If you are willing to work for free, find a volunteer group where everyone is unpaid. That has its own problems but at least it's sane. BTW, 'non-profit' is not the same as volunteer.

I hear where you are coming from, and I was always fortunate to have interesting, paid internships. I don't follow your logic though.

If you are being paid, they very might well ask you to fetch lunch and dry cleaning. And, since you're being paid, you feel obligated to comply. Many interns have that unfortunate experience.

If you're not being paid, then you just say no thanks, I'll go home instead.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best way to spend my time as a 17-year-old who can code?

#173

Post by jason_slack »

mwcampbell wrote: post #124
jason_slack wrote: post #89

To be 17 again! My teens were a blast. I have a 486 and a PowerPC 6100. I worked a whole Summer to buy Metrowerks Codewarrior for $700 not realizing there was an education discount for $99. :-( I was into C++ and C. I didn't rely on any toolkits. I wrote my own GUI (Windows, buttons, Sprites, event handling, renderer, physics and threading (although threading was a complete failure). I tried to re-create the Legend O…

> Don't settle for what the OS has to offer. But probably do when you start actually writing real applications that people are going to use, that aren't just games or toys. Don't be that hotshot developer that creates yet another GUI toolkit ignoring accessibility (for screen readers and the like).

Good point. Real world, mission critical use what is tried and true.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best way to spend my time as a 17-year-old who can code?

#174

Post by tome_anir »

mychael wrote: post #103

Close your laptop. Go outside. Listen to live music. Make friends in your community. Travel abroad. Fall in love. You're already on a great trajectory - so at worst you'll earn a 6 figure salary and at best you will be the next zillionaire startup founder. Don't waste your youth on HackerNews and Github.

Very very true. Concisely said the reality of life. Thank you for adding some saneness to the bizarre paragraphs of advises given by everyone else.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best way to spend my time as a 17-year-old who can code?

#175

Post by jmkni »

mehrdada wrote: post #119
bittermang wrote: post #22

I was 17 once. I could code once. What's the best way to spend your time? Basking in the sun. Finding a scam to score some schnapps or beer or weed. Telling somebody you love them, and just going for it. Recklessly driving a car at a high rate of speed down an old country road. Learn how to play a bass guitar. Spend your waning hours getting your hands dirty while there's still time, and before the world judges you t…

Wish I could downvote this twice. This post builds on the Hollywood portrayal that’s widespread and assumes what’s fun and fulfilling is basically beer, weed, and recklessly driving, etc. I assume if a 17 year old finds doing these all the time fun enough, they would not need any helpful advice in execution. To the OP: if you don’t like becoming an average older person, avoid following average older people’s advice.…

I completely agree, sometimes younger people are just eager to grow up and get to work.

This was definitely my mindset at 17 (and today).

Re: Ask HN: What is the best way to spend my time as a 17-year-old who can code?

#176

Post by ColonelPhantom »

As someone who is around OPs age who also has Asperger's, I feel like so many of the things people tell OP to do, I feel like they're things I personally don't want to do or know how to do, or even feel I don't have the freedom to do. People say it's a time of freedom, and that you should enjoy the freedom, but I don't feel like I even have the freedom.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best way to spend my time as a 17-year-old who can code?

#177

Post by akeruu »

I am so late to the party I feel so ashamed but here is my 2 cents.

Please, please, travel, and by that I don't mean doing a full a world tour. Just explore what exists outside of your surroundings. Exercise yourself to questioning. Making money is fine, and most of the time needed, but discovering what your like / loathe is as important. Talk to people, share stories, get into argument, confront yourself with other way of thinking.

Being able to code or having a nice portfolio might make you hire-able but true maturity will make you shine amongst others.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best way to spend my time as a 17-year-old who can code?

#179

Post by therealdrag0 »

When I was your age I started an internship at a tiny local programming company. They payed me a dollar or two over minimum wage to start and I did testing and writing documentation and fixing bugs for them. It was a good starting job. A good introduction to the "Real world". After that I majored in English, and then majored in CS.

I think if you walk into a small local company, and tell them what you can do and that you're interested in a summer internship. You have decent odds. A lot of people like to give back to the community. And HS interns are cheap.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best way to spend my time as a 17-year-old who can code?

#180

Post by confounded »

mehrdada wrote: post #168
confounded wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And do what?

You can’t outsource the CEO role of your life. You need to figure out who you want to be yourself and execute accordingly. And there is compounding impacts for seemingly trivial decisions you make at 17. They are more important, not less, than the future decisions on that factor. Also, I hate to point out that 17 isn’t that young. That some people in the thread are so underestimating of 17-year-old capabilities is di…

> You can’t outsource the CEO role of your life

They really need to make Alan Partridge does Silicon Valley.

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