71–80 of 199 posts
Also you have a lifetime of coding ahead of you (if that's the career you are after), enjoy your life while you don't yet have responsibilities like mortgage and family. You may not realize it, but at your age the amount of freedom you have to do whatever you want and make mistakes is a big advantage.
Both can go on your resume.
But also keep a balance and do things you can't do when you are in your 30s. Get physically active in some fun sports, learn how to compete and make friends. Date, a lot, and learn how to have conversations, flirt, and just hang out.
Make mistakes, they are cheaper to correct at your age.
The best thing, as a young person that likes to program, is that you can feasibly code and travel around. So do that. If you are intimidated, start small and just drive to different cafes in your city, or go to different cities. Then find a way to move to another city, even for a few weeks. Tourism is boring, but living other places is awesome. Then think about going to a different country, see the world, but also develop yourself professionally.
Ignore those that tell you to dope up and tune out, that's an absolutely shitty way to spend your young years.
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…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This guy gets it.
> they're shit adults to do feel like we're still alive Perhaps the problem here is that there are two groups of people, those who feel like they're aren't alive and do things to try and feel like they are, and those who don't need to lie to themselves to feel better. I understand what you're saying in your post above, but I think it's wrong, personally. I know many people now who followed that route and their lives…
Twenty years later, I don't really remember the parties, I don't recall the code, or the late nights out... but I still cherish the friendships I made. I can trace 90% of my career to people I met, who introduced me to others, who introduced me to others. You can't make those connections at 40 or 50, you can always learn another language then. The world is full of coders who have horrible jobs, because they are poor at interpersonal relations. They're a skill like any other, and 17 is a perfect age to work on them.
I threw my resume out there and eventually landed a paid internship. I realized that I don't want to code for other people. The cool part about coding for me was that I could make anything I wanted, but when you're working you're stuck implementing someone else's vision.
My advice is to hire yourself. Start selling apps or whatever, but don't sweat it too much. You're at the age where you're allowed to do stupid shit and get away with it, so just enjoy it while you can.
Find some open source project(s) that you are interested in and has a friendly community. Get into developing for that and learning how you actually not that great of a programmer ;) Get better, immerse yourself. Go to college in the next year or two, that's important. But also keep a balance and do things you can't do when you are in your 30s. Get physically active in some fun sports, learn how to compete and make f…
No, no they're not. The "be stupid early" plan is a major fail IRL. The idea that society will forgive you for it is proven wrong every day. When employers look for anything to disqualify you, that old FB post with you being stupid is made to order, or the arrest for DUI, or any of those early mistakes, are very handy. It's actually much harder to overcome early stupidity than it ever was in the past because the internet remembers.
The math of compound interest applies to a lot of things beyond your bank account. The earlier you learn the basics of something, the earlier you start doing a hobby, the earlier you start collecting RL 'achievement earned' points, the faster they will grow in later years. I would argue that THAT is the way to invest the freedom of youth. Try a hobby or learn something to see if you like it. THAT's ideal to do when you can easily move on to something else while those choices are entirely up to you. You will move on to college and a career with much more confidence that the path you are on is one you really want. YOLO is true. Why would you want to waste any of it?
I also want to call BS on the 'life ends at 30' advice here. You really think traveling is best when you have no money or skills? BS. You think no one >30 is physically active? More BS.