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Ask HN: How to continue to grow as a high-schooler?
Hello HN! I'm a high school student (and I noticed there's more of us in the comments). I have a year and a half of high school remaining, but I realized I'm not really pushing myself recently, and I'm very unsure what path should I take. I know that "everyone's path is different", but I still wanted to ask for general recommendations, what options do I have for growth?
Specifically, there's two key points I'm considering:
Learning more tech: most of the work I did so far was web, Python backend + quite basic JS frontends. I've been contemplating learning kotlin for android, some ML or learning something low-level (that didn't sound very intimidating though). What will I benefit from the most?
Getting a part-time job/internship, something I can do whole studying, to get a sense of reality and some money. I'm not aspiring to be an entrepreneur (yet), none of my projects were built with a business model in mind at all. Where should I look? Linkedin shows mostly stuff for graduates/etc. What pay should I expect (i have absolutely no idea)? Is remote a bad idea?
- LatteLazy 6y agoWhen I was your age (I'm 36 now) I found the reading list from the Personal MBA guy incredibly useful. The list is 2-3 books in 30 categories from negotiation to communication to basic accounting. These are a list of the things older people wish they'd learnt in school. Things you didn't know were important until it was too late. https://personalmba.com/best-business-books/ https://personalmba.com/best-business-books/ I'd start by reading. That's it. Just reading and thinking.
- mvolfik 6y agoOh yes, basic accounting and work/business law. I was recently shocked to realize that I know exactly nothing about this, even though I'm attending a 'gymnasium' (a school with advanced academic education in many directions, wiki says comparable to US 'preparatory schools') and this is a thing many people will need in their life. The reviews look very positive, I'll look into it, thanks!
- mbg721 6y agoI wouldn't underestimate actively participating in communities related to any impractical hobbies that you might have. It's a good way to hone networking/soft skills, and it can help give you an outlet to avoid burnout later.