Ask HN: High school job advice

I am a senior in high school and I am looking for some advice.

As a high school student who cannot work full-time, it is near to impossible for me to find a part-time job related to computer programming or web development (locally). Since that's the only real thing I get a drive to work on, I don't know that I would want to work doing anything else. I know that the kind of work I want to do is more of a preference than an actual requirement, so I'm stuck on what to do.

Would you suggest I just find a job, regardless of what it is (money's money, right?), or should I use that time instead to hack away on personal programming projects, with the possibility of financial gain in the future.

Thanks.

3 comments

[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 17.2 ms ] thread

andrewtbham 15y ago ↗

have u thought about elance or something like that?

what language do you know? maybe i (or someone else here) will hire you.

techietim 15y ago ↗

I have been programming in PHP for a good number of years. Included in that are HTML, CSS, and JavaScript skills. I have also done work in Java, C#, and C (which I just started a year or so ago, but I am really enjoying it right now). I also like playing around and designing in Inkscape.

mcknz 15y ago ↗

If you're looking to go into a programming career immediately, I would focus on building a portfolio of work, but if you are planning to go to college (where you'd be studying programming full time), I would get a non-programming job. Even what seems like mindless labor can improve your work ethic and discipline, and teach you how to work with other people (and all the fun challenges that brings). Gets you out of your home/school environment. Sometimes you'll connect with others who may be able to help you down the road. Plus you will likely still work on development since that's a big interest of yours.

I'm a full-time developer, but I remember fondly a lot of washing dishes, busing tables, mopping floors, mowing lawns, and delivering pizzas....