Re:Ask HN: I'm 18, broke, and inexperienced. What do I do?
by jessehorne on Saturday December 27, 2014 @11:41PM
(#8805256)
Oh no, your advice is appreciated and correct. I don't have an impressive portfolio. I'm sorry if I sounded so dependent on cash, I'm not in a life threatening situation. I can survive well, thanks to family and friends. Thank you for the advice!
Re:Ask HN: I'm 18, broke, and inexperienced. What do I do?
by unepipe on Saturday December 27, 2014 @11:57PM
(#8805308)
I concur - I would highly recommend taking a paying day job and working furiously on side projects, and parlaying that into an employment opportunity - I would also recommend looking at other skilled positions at an internet startup like data analysis, marketing, SEM, etc. You can learn those skills relatively quickly tbh especially if you are someone who programs. It will probably seems relatively straightforward to learn. Many companies are looking for passionate individuals who are technically savvy.
And do your research before job interviews. Understand the ins and outs of the company, their competition. I turn down people who I can tell haven't checked out our website let alone the industry prior to applying.
Re:Ask HN: I'm 18, broke, and inexperienced. What do I do?
by 3838 on Sunday December 28, 2014 @05:33AM
(#8805945)
in that case you might consider working part-time - i'm not sure what to suggest, a job where you'll meet people your own age, somewhere corporate, or a small business, with a small business you might get a chance to flex your computer chops and perhaps progress that way - into tech support for instance and perhaps further from there
someone i know worked in a general store in his teens, he's been running his own cafe business for 20 years now - working in the store taught him almost everything he needed to know to run a cafe.
Your dismissal of the education system is a little sad too but as a non-American, I'm not in a position to judge the situation. Despite the bad rep education systems get, I think the benefits of formal education can't be understated. It's not just the skills you learn directly from courses but the critical analysis and other soft skills that you pick up which are often most valuable. I'm glad that you seem to have the interest to direct yourself toward new knowledge - that's just as valuable and not orthogonal to formal education.
I had a look at your Github and, IMHO, it's not something that would cause me to hire or partner with you. That is one person's random opinion on the Internet though so please don't take it as rude or disheartening. You are writing code and it is interesting, that's a great start especially for someone as young as yourself. Keep writing code when you can and I'm sure you'll end up doing something you love.
Good luck and I hope you get some good advice from this thread but remember that you should put your health and basic needs first. Passion and repositories usually aren't enough to pay the rent.