My Internship Experience as a 13-Year-Old

> There will be so much opportunity for work later on in life

Absolutely. But the best programmers are the ones who never wanted to do it for the money anyhow (and got into it simply because it's interesting and enjoyable).

Moderation is key to everything. However...

You can have it all. Being passionate about something breathes life into all aspects of you and the people around you. It's a lot more fun to be talking to a date or a friend at a party who spends his/her time doing something passionately (even obsessively) than someone with no direction and moderate/little dedication. Some personalities are prone to doing things to excess. You see it with athletes, musicians, programmers, and others. Not that all people in those fields are like that, but it's better than devoting your energies to something objectively unhealthy, such as drinking or watching TV.

That said, do remember to eat well and sleep. And see the sun once in a while, and talk to people. Then get back to your hobby/passion/etc as time permits.

The 8th grader feels left out (me).

I'm at Ian.carroll@snapstudiodesign.com if you'd like to include me :)

It's amazing that the culture can be so different. Going to college in a European country, I never did an internship. I barely even worked summer jobs, I did maybe one summer's worth of work spread out over a few years, just to get some money. Even college summers were spent LANing with friends, fishing, watching movies, swimming, traveling, reading, some recreational coding etc. Just enjoying the summer, not worrying about my future career. It was great. Honestly, even though I could've spent my summers doing internships, I think it would have been rather pointless. I was already working 110% during the school year and still learning basic math, science and related theory. Whatever work I would've put in would have been sub-par. And that time was great to unwind.

Imagine my astonishment when I first came to the US and kids in the first and second year of college were doing internships at Google, Amazon and Microsoft. Good on them I suppose, especially getting paid well to do it, but I can't see how it helps much. Seems mostly like a way for Google et al to fish for young talent before they graduate.

Anyway, being as excited about coding as this kid is, maybe this is the best way for him to use his time, but the culture difference is just amusing to me.

I'm currently 17 and have done internships for both of the previous summers. Although getting experience was both edifying and fun, there was still a huge opportunity cost. I would have preferred to spend a bit more of my summer indulging my personal interests. Although it was certainly a great experience, I'm unsure about whether or not I'll look back in ten years and wish that I had taken advantage of my summers.

As for the second point, I'm not sure whether internships really create an appreciable advantage at elite schools. Based on anecdotal evidence and some cursory research, I would posit that most qualified applicants to elite schools will have one if not two internships for major organizations. Many will have done academic research. I know a guy who is attempting to get his research on binary star systems published (his first choice is MIT). Careers start early.

Internships are definitely desirable things to have, I don't think that they differentiate students. If anything, they are a prerequisite. Trying to get into college is hard. From what I've experienced, I'm not sure if enslaving oneself to the cult of standardized tests is worth it. The OP seems to have a fair idea of what he wants to do, and has a non-trivial amount of ability. He should think critically about whether or not college is worth it.

I would definitely not endorse the long, arduous process of maximizing attractiveness to colleges during one's high school career in the unequivocal way that you did. One's career aspirations and expectations are highly personal things.

It's great you're exercising daily, aim to make it part of your daily routine, it'll pay off very well in the future.

When I was your age I had days and even weeks during my summer breaks when I would get bored out of my mind. Believe it or not there's some benefit in that. It allowed me to find new ways to entertain myself and definitely boosted/developed my creativity. Try to get bored every once in a while, it feels nice :)