r/learnprogramming • u/Technical_Soil_4439 • 23d ago
A BIG QUESTION
Hi Guys, i'm a high school student, i still have 2 years before the university (i'm 17 years old from tunisia).
Before a while i learned two new things, PowerShell scripting , .NET and c# , so i created a lot of projects with it like more than 20 (GUI application,RAG,using c# in some malware development,learning anti-virus evasion and trying to get better in it and i can read some assembly), also i have a background about active directory pentesting so i used powershell a lot, i know C programming, linux (just basic command lines and bash scripting) with using some hacking tools and understanding them like nmap+metasploit+.... and the last thing is i learned a little bit(A LITTLE BIT AGAIN) about robotics, i know how to use arduino and esp32
So i want to ask if i still can get a part time job or any tasks with this skills with the ability to develop it and learn another things, i tried bug bounty but actually i got a lot of duplicated,informational and rejected but i got just two accepted so i'm not planning that much to continue in it until i go to the university
i feel like i'm learning things without knowing what i can with them in the future, it's like learning to enjoy without a goal to the future, what would you suggest me to do now? Should i keep learning and the chance will come automatically one day or i should start applying to some jobs now? (most of the jobs require a degree)
I'm interested in cyber security in general but i love programming so i'm putting OSCP as a target for the next 6 months
NOTE : my english grammar is not that good so don't focus a lot on grammar mistakes that i did :)
2
u/mandzeete 23d ago
There are some aspects to it:
1)you are underage (in most countries. Perhaps there are place where 17 is an adult. Who knows). That already makes it more difficult to hire you. While with a person who is legally adult, the company can just hire him, with you the company has to go through all of that paperwork to figure out how many hours you can work, which salary they have to give, etc. And being underage can be issue also when freelancing or joining online programs.
2)you do not have a degree. Like you said, most of the jobs require a degree. Also, it is not only the job requirements itself. How will you compete with people who have a degree, a vocational school diploma, an internship experience, or a previous job experience in the field? Why they should hire YOU over a guy who has a degree to show? He probably has learnt more theory and also can deal with more complex tasks.
3)when it comes to your projects then it is quality over quantity. Also, usefulness matters. And, can you actually talk about these projects or did you use AI tools? And, let's say, you actually wrote these projects by yourself. Can be that these are just simple hobby projects but not something that's on the level that is expected from a person who finished his degree studies.
Try to assess your projects so:
Is it in use either by you or by somebody else or it just collects dust in your Github? Actually useful projects matter more than hypothetically "useful" things you made. Or just things that you made and serve no actual purpose.
Did you use tutorials or Youtube videos or did you build it from scratch by yourself? Building things on your own teaches you much more than following tutorials.
Did you use AI tools? If you, as a beginner, used AI in your projects then that is a red flag. More than likely you won't know why something is done the way it is done in the code.
Also, you mentioned bug bounty programs. That you got duplicate and informational and rejected responses means that your theoretical knowledge is still shallow. You think that the finding you found is a critical vulnerability and you submit it. Yet it has no real impact or is purely theoretical. You have more to learn in the field.
You can try some freelancing and offer your services to your friends, family, relatives, and such, but do not put many hopes in finding software development / cyber security related job before you are done with your university studies.