I taught myself C when I was 12 years old, does that mean I'm ready for a formal job with responsibilities at 16? Ageism is not about what magical skills you ha

I taught myself C when I was 12 years old, does that mean I'm ready for a formal job with responsibilities at 16? Ageism is not about what magical skills you have at 16 or 18 (or 20 for that matter), it's about a teenager not having experience on neither a full blown (probably monetized) project, nor on life as an adult with responsibilities. It's not that teenagers are being discriminated because people think they lack skills. They're being discriminated because 99% of teenager cant hold a job at a fast food joint and no one want's to have to deal with the risk of hiring children to do something "important". Reality check, if you're 16~18 and want to get your foot trough the door, get an internship. Good employers or clients are not going to give you age discrimination if you actually have proof that you're mature enough and have had experience in the field.