I'm glad you got lucky. > You don't need a "strong professional network" to have your family help you find work No, but it certainly helps. Especially softwar

I'm glad you got lucky. > You don't need a "strong professional network" to have your family help you find work No, but it certainly helps. Especially software development work. Regarding the rest, your original comment singles out "really intelligent kids". I was largely replying to that description. In general, advising people who fit that model to prematurely optimize so early in life is doing them a huge disservice. A "really intelligent kid" can get college mostly paid for through scholarships and have the world at their feet after graduating. The urge to take that dev job after high school is strong (been there), but it's generally a huge net loss for someone who is actually "really intelligent". > Most people can't afford to worry about what's "boring" I'm very concerned by your attitude that folks from modest means aren't capable of boredom, aren't capable of burnout. I'm also saddened by the fact that you seem to take offense toward encouraging "really intelligent kids" to actually use that raw intellect just because they happen to come from a modest background.