1. Don’t tell anyone you are 17. Ageism is real on both extremes.
2. Build something. Anything. Many things. Don’t stop. You will find your “specialty” niche eventually and blast off from there. Here are some ideas (in some different spaces):
- an alarm clock that stops when it sees your face (computer vision)
- an easier way to search Instagram (social engineering)
- SMS mailing lists for small business owners (SMS, communications, lead gen)
- literally any idea that comes to your mind...build it just to say you did.
3. Talk about it. Be passionate. Help others. This could definitely be in the form of OSS contributions, which is great way to gain visibility in the community.
4. Specifically on generating income: since you don’t have a product built (yet), focus on consulting which can help build your reputation. Start with your current personal network, even if it’s just friends of your parents that may own a small business or maybe someone you know from your community. Before you contact them, do the research. Do they already have a site? What’s it built with? Where does their business come from? Is there a clear opportunity to tangibly improve this for them? If so - reach out. Start open minded and asking questions. Find out what they need - it may not be what you’ve identified in your research. If it is, great, you were spot on. If not, that’s fine, sell them whatever service you are confident you can help with, and take note for the next customer in that industry.
If you’re set on finding a normal job - just start applying. No need to say anything about a degree or school. Show off what you built (step 2!), express how passionate you are (step 3!!), and don’t stop until you have an offer. It will happen. I didn’t go to school and one of the first ways I figured out how to reliable get in the door was I just _started assuming responsibilities of an engineer at that company._ For example, does that company need a new website? Yeah? Then just build it. Send it to them with your resume. “Hey, notice you needed a new site. Here you go.” Depending on how well you nail their branding or what their focus is, this can leave a great impression of your passion and work ethic. I’ve skipped many interviews this way and just landed the offer straight.
2. Build something. Anything. Many things. Don’t stop. You will find your “specialty” niche eventually and blast off from there. Here are some ideas (in some different spaces):
- an alarm clock that stops when it sees your face (computer vision)
- an easier way to search Instagram (social engineering)
- SMS mailing lists for small business owners (SMS, communications, lead gen)
- literally any idea that comes to your mind...build it just to say you did.
3. Talk about it. Be passionate. Help others. This could definitely be in the form of OSS contributions, which is great way to gain visibility in the community.
4. Specifically on generating income: since you don’t have a product built (yet), focus on consulting which can help build your reputation. Start with your current personal network, even if it’s just friends of your parents that may own a small business or maybe someone you know from your community. Before you contact them, do the research. Do they already have a site? What’s it built with? Where does their business come from? Is there a clear opportunity to tangibly improve this for them? If so - reach out. Start open minded and asking questions. Find out what they need - it may not be what you’ve identified in your research. If it is, great, you were spot on. If not, that’s fine, sell them whatever service you are confident you can help with, and take note for the next customer in that industry.
If you’re set on finding a normal job - just start applying. No need to say anything about a degree or school. Show off what you built (step 2!), express how passionate you are (step 3!!), and don’t stop until you have an offer. It will happen. I didn’t go to school and one of the first ways I figured out how to reliable get in the door was I just _started assuming responsibilities of an engineer at that company._ For example, does that company need a new website? Yeah? Then just build it. Send it to them with your resume. “Hey, notice you needed a new site. Here you go.” Depending on how well you nail their branding or what their focus is, this can leave a great impression of your passion and work ethic. I’ve skipped many interviews this way and just landed the offer straight.
YMMV.
Good luck mate!