Every single person I meet asks me the same question: "How did you get a job without even finishing school?" It's still a mystery to them how I have 3+ years of professional experience while being in my 2nd year of college. At 17, while my classmates were cramming for physics boards, I was debugging production code and earning my first paycheck. Let me tell you exactly how it happened.
The Foundation: When school actually taught me to code (4th-10th Grade)
I got lucky with my school's curriculum, they introduced us to programming early. I've been coding since I was 10 years old:
- 4th grade: Logo (those turtle graphics!)
- 5th grade: Q-Basic
- 6th grade: Visual Basic
- 7th-8th grade: C++
- 9th-10th grade: Java
Over these years, I gained fundamental programming knowledge: loops, variables, arrays, strings, and basic sorting and searching algorithms. But here's what really set me apart: my debugging and problem-solving skills got razor-sharp because my teacher had one rule: code on paper first.
We had to write our entire programs on paper before touching a computer. Every semicolon and every bracket had to be perfect. If she copied our handwritten code exactly into the editor, it should run without errors. We found this hilarious back then, but now I realise the incredible impact it had on me. It forced me to think through problems completely before writing a single line of code.
Those were the days when we didn't have GitHub Copilot or Cursor auto-completing everything. For beginners today, I honestly think those constraint-driven days were better for building real programming intuition.
The Pivot: When COVID changed everything (11th Grade)
Then COVID hit during my 10th grade. Life took a complete U-turn. After my board exams, I had to leave traditional school and opt for homeschooling. Many people criticised this decision, telling me how important school social life was and how this would negatively impact my career growth.
But facing challenges taught me to stay focused on my goals rather than getting discouraged by others' doubts.
During 11th grade, while the second lockdown was raging, my brother suggested, "Get certifications from foreign universities to improve your profile and skills."
I went on a learning platform spree: Codecademy, Udacity, EdX, Sololearn, Grasshopper; you name it, I tried it. All of them helped me explore different technologies, and I discovered something crucial: no matter which technology you learn, the fundamentals remain the same as what I'd covered in school.
Then I found Harvard University's CS50x, hands down the best course ever created. If anyone asks what's special about Harvard, just show them this course's teaching style. David Malan is the most energetic teacher I've ever seen. Through CS50x, I learned Python, data structures, and so much more. And yes, I got a certificate from Harvard! 🎓
I'll admit, the course was tough. It took me a full year to complete because of… well, procrastination 😅. However, the Discord community was incredibly helpful throughout the journey.
The frontend love story
Meanwhile, my brother suggested a Coursera course on front-end development. At that time, I thought it was boring and quit after just one video. (Bad judgment on my part!)
Three months later, I discovered FreeCodeCamp, and everything changed. The way I got invested in front-end development was mind-blowing.
See, throughout my coding journey, I always wondered: "Is this really programming? Just writing code, running the compiler, and seeing a single line of output?" It felt boring and disconnected.
But FreeCodeCamp showed me how fun coding could actually be. I fell in love with front-end development because I could see my code come to life visually. The FreeCodeCamp forum community is absolutely amazing, they helped me solve issues and improve my code. Love them!
For their Responsive Web Design certification, I built my first real frontend project, a tribute page to Steve Jobs. Looking back, it's pretty basic, but it was the moment I realised I could actually build things for the web!
I guess this was the only thing I could do for Steve Jobs… unless Apple hires me someday! 🙈
Here's that first project: Steve Jobs Tribute Page
After completing the course, I hit a wall. I didn't have project ideas to implement my frontend skills, and I couldn't design, so I didn't know how to practice pixel-perfect development.
Then a CS50x friend suggested Frontend Mentor. It was a game-changer! I cannot thank Matt Studdert enough for creating this platform. It provides numerous projects with designs already created, solving my main challenge. The designs are so good that they subconsciously forced me to implement them pixel-perfectly to do justice to the design quality. The platform offers various free projects covering all aspects a frontend developer needs to get hired.
My brother then gave me a hands-on Figma experience by sharing a landing page design he'd implemented for his company (GoSocial). He taught me designer-perspective tips about what to focus on when converting Figma designs to code. This project turned out to be vital in landing my first job! Here is the project link: GoSocial Landing Page
The Breakthrough: Landing my first job
I started my FreeCodeCamp journey in August 2021. By January 2022, I was determined to get a job within three months. I didn't care if it was freelance, full-time, or an internship, I just wanted workplace experience.
I applied everywhere I could find, starting in mid-March 2022. The most common response? "Oh, you're still in school? Sorry, better luck next time."
But persistence pays off. Finally, in April 2022, a company called CreativeScript replied to me. I was beyond excited. They asked if I was available for a meeting. I was really sick that day and almost cancelled, but something told me to push through. (So fortunate I didn't cancel!)
The interview was short. They had the same concern: was I too young? Would hiring me be a mistake? Little did they know, I thought they were pretty young too, since they'd started their company while still in college, but I was also amazed by their entrepreneurial spirit.
They gave me a login page Figma design and asked me to convert it to code. I completed it in 1-2 hours. They were impressed and hired me on the spot! 🎉
From that moment on, I learned something new every day from my workplace colleagues and the friends I made during my coding journey. I'm incredibly grateful for that opportunity.
Big thanks to Aditya Pandey, Sarthak Shukla, and Yash Shivhare, the three founders of CreativeScript, who actually took a chance on me when everyone else was saying, "You're too young." Really appreciate the opportunity they gave me!
I started as a frontend developer and now have experience across these three domains: frontend, backend, and mobile app development. I've even worked on enterprise e-commerce platforms with SAP Hybris integration. Currently, I'm building React Native apps and full-stack web applications.
Key takeaways for aspiring developers
Stop waiting for the 'perfect moment' to start applying. I got hired not because I knew everything, but because I proved I could learn quickly when faced with new challenges.
Here's what I learned:
- Fundamentals matter more than fancy frameworks Those paper coding exercises gave me a solid foundation that no bootcamp could match.
- Build projects, not just tutorials Frontend Mentor was a game-changer for this.
- Apply everywhere You only need one "yes" among hundreds of "nos"
- Age is just a number 🤷♂️ Skills and dedication matter more than years of experience.
- Community is everything FreeCodeCamp, CS50x Discord, and Frontend Mentor communities were invaluable.
Where I am today
I've come a long way from that 10-year-old writing Logo commands. Today, I'm working on complex systems, mentoring other developers, and continuously learning new technologies.