
How can a 16 year old get a job in programming? - sattoshi
I tried freelancing on guru.com for a half a year and managed to get a couple of projects and happen to get those jobs by lying about being a college graduate despite not even finishing highschool (yet).<p>However, looking through sites such as indeed.ca, every single programming position is asked for a college degree and lying about it simply wouldn&#x27;t as far as I can imagine..<p>How can I, as a 16 year old, get programming-related work?<p>I often see people suggesting going around the local town to look for work but I live in a city next to the capital, there are almost no businesses here; everybody works for the gov.<p>Any advice?<p>Bonus Question: If you were a recruiter, what would it take a 16 year old candidate to get hired?
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Michealwestonx
It all depends on the kind of work you are looking for.

Most companies aren't going to hire your every day average teenager, even one
who can demonstrate that they may or may not know whats required for the
position,(No offense).

Most of the companies are looking for (like you said) someone with
certificates, so you are correct in assuming you can't lie your way through
it.

In regards to your main question "How can I, as a 16 year old, get
programming-related work?" there are a couple avenues you can take.

The first being exactly as you said, hit the pavement, and hand out resumes
detailing what your strengths and weaknesses are, what languages you are
proficient in etc... You never know what might come up, I know for a fact you
wont get a job if you don't go actively looking for one. The IT industry is
very large, but more and more people are becoming much more Savvy, so anything
out of the norm you are decent at could be a large help.

The second avenue I would suggest, speaking from personal experience, is app
development. I get around 5-6 calls a week asking if my business does app
development (Both local and international) everyone is tied to their
smartphones, from checking e-mails, to becoming an aspiring Pokemon trainer,
the fact is, smartphones are now a heavy part of every day life. Companies are
doing their best to market things to the younger generations, which includes
app development. It's a pretty large market, and quite a few colleagues of
mine have profited quite nicely from app development.

In regards to your "Bonus Question"

If I was a recruiter, short of you being some programming god, I wouldn't even
look at someone without certifications. I know it sounds like a A-hole of a
thing, but, in my situation at least, I have quite a few large clients, that
work very closely with my employees, and it's always an easier sell if you can
say "Oh, well John here has 8 certificates, 2 jackrabbits, and a small pony"
as opposed to "Here's Bob, he's 16, and he's got a bitchin' haircut"

To sum it up, don't loose faith, and keep your feet on the pavement,
eventually something will come up, whether is be coding for a small "mom and
pop" operation, or something larger, word spreads quickly if you're good at
what you do.

That's just my 2 cents.

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sattoshi
Thanks for the so direct.

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doozy
No one will pay you to do something you have not done before.

But it's fairly easy to find programming work if you have done something
similar in the past.

Pick a project that you like and develop it. Make it open source. Research
what companies work on that niche and use the same tech stack and contact them
about an internship.

Also ask your parents, teachers, or any other adult that knows you and see if
they know someone who may hire you.

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J_Darnley
A degree. You need a degree. You might be able to get away with it in magical
SV but not elsewhere.

