Is There Like An Age Limit?

I was Wondering, I’m Only 12 Years Old (2005) And I’m Not Too Quite Sure If Im Aloud To Sign Up For FCC At This Age And If I Ever Interview With A Developer One Day My Mum Would Know And Be Like “What The Hell Are You Doing! You Don’t Know This Person” And Yeah I Just Don’t Really Know If There’s An Age Limit Or Something For This.

Does Anybody Know?

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I think you should focus on not starting every word with a capital letter.

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Good for you! I don’t think there is an age limit to learn this course.
http://blog.teamtreehouse.com/ricky-is-a-high-school-senior-with-a-success-freelance-web-design-and-development-business

@Quiixotiic
Using this fCC Map exercise, :slight_smile:

titleCase("I'm a little tea pot"); 
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I didn’t ask what i should focus on…

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It’s a bit early to start worrying what your mom will say if you get a job one day…hey, you’re 12 now, but you are bound to one day get a job at some point in your life, right? :smiley: So don’t stress yourself out thinking about the finish line.

TOS aside (I have no idea if there’s an age limit on FCC) my personal feeling about anything that involves education and self growth is, you are never too young and you are never too old. I was 14 when I started programming but back then it wasnt a thing, especially not a thing girls did, and people still thought computers were a fad. So I looked at it as just a hobby, not anything I could actually make a living out of. That has completely and totally changed. I think programming is a skill worth learning and at this point in your life, more than okay to start if thats what you are interested in.

As for your mum, I do hope she would be more supportive than to ask you what the hell you are doing! Just involve her…My daughter has always had an interest in art, and her entire life,she has involved me every step of the way. Even though I don’t know much about or understand much of what shes doing, Im super proud of her for all the work she has put into it and she actually started to get job offers when she was 15.

Even though you didnt ask what to focus on, Im going to say it anyway…focus on what you are doing right now which is learn development and let your mom in on it and involve her in your life…she may surprise you and be super supportive.

Go for it! My son is 12 and he has already advanced beyond the computer class at his school so he is going to start freeCodeCamp today.

Parents worry about who their children are talking to online especially if there is a big age difference as you will find here. The simple solution is to invite your Mum to sit with you sometimes and watch you learn. This is will ease her concerns and it could be good for you too because sometimes when you are stuck on a problem, just explaining it to another person helps you figure out the answer. And who knows maybe she will catch the coding bug and join up too.

Oh and I think its ok if you write conversationally in the forum. It’s not a school essay you’re going to get marks on. But why does school make you write in complete sentences with proper punctuation and grammar etc.? Because they are teaching you to communicate effectively. Good communication skills are as important for a professional developer as programming itself. For example when you need help, the forum is a great resource but no one will be able to help you if they find it hard to understand what you are saying. (Bear in mind English is not the native language for a lot of campers.) So you should try and write a little more “grown up” just for your own good.

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Officially, there’s no age limit, but you were born after I graduated high school (and was well into college) which makes me feel really old so I’m going to go drink until I no longer feel the creeping shadow of my own mortality. When I get back, you’re going to pretend that you’re 25 and no one will ever mention this ever again, OK?

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You feel old? I have a kid older than OP. I have no time to drink, my feeble old brain is having a hard enough time grasping all of this as it is! :grin:

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@PortableStick I didn’t even think of that…ooooh jeez, if this makes you feel old, I must be senior citizen then lol The only thing that makes me feel old is when I hear my knees click…but other than that, Im pretty much stuck at 28. (I not old btw, at least I don’t think I am? Much older than you though lol)

What I do know is…if I knew then what I know now…I would’ve spent a lot less time worrying and doubting myself and put a whole lot more focus into coding. I listened to too many people through the years saying I should be more serious about my future rather than playing around with computers. I was so primed for it in the 90s, and now, here I am in my decrepit old age (lol) lagging so far behind.

@see-line For real! I feel you on that…my kid is in college. I try not to think about that too hard LOL

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Even better, you should start FCC. I failed English class three times in a row. I then took a PHP class and now I shit my pants when I miss a period or a comma. Once you get a feeling on how to write code, you’ll start to see the English language like any other computer language.

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Capitalisation, actually :wink:

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I’m 37 years old and it really has been tough to change my career at this age. I had an interest in programming when I was around your age - no internet back then, I just had two books in my local library and a ZX Spectrum. I was not able to follow my interests and life led me elsewhere until recently.

I really wish the current opportunities like Free Code Camp were available when I was your age.

If you have an interest then I highly recommend getting stuck in. Do it!!

Let me tell you a story. When my kids were a little younger, I homeschooled them. I set up a classroom with computers. We watched tutorial videos in C++ (This was about all there was at the time.) My daughters were about 9 and 11 at the time. (I have 2 boys also.) My older daughter did not want to learn code, and she hated it. Something must have stuck. Now she is 19, a junior in college, and can code better than most of the computer science majors here. She just finished a game in Unity by herself. My younger daughter can do video editing, some game design (making models), etc. She doesn’t write a lot of code, but she can edit scripts, etc. I think learning some code while you are young will help you understand it better when you are older. Also, 12 is old enough to learn just about anything you want. It may take you a couple of years to finish, but you will be a better coder in the end. You aren’t looking for a job right now. Build some websites. Your mom will be proud of you. BTW, my daughter says you should learn Gamemaker instead of freeCodeCamp. I say, learn what makes you happy.

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No 12 years old is not to young, but perhaps you should ask this question of yourself, is this something that interest you? If so then go for it. I was much older than you before I got into coding, but by listening to a podcast called :JavaScript Jabber" I have heard some of the pro coders started at your age and younger, while others have started much older. So my take away from this is there is no age limit, but being persistent and willing to learn from your mistakes will take you far in any endeavor you pursue. And if ever there was a good time to learn to code, it is now. The vast amount of knowledge and resources at your finger tips is a real boon for you.

As a parent, I can understand your parents concern with what they see on the news. I can only say is be smart. Interviewing with a developer at your age, at least in my country, you are too young to hire.

If you are truly driven and talented, you could be a freelancer and ask your parents to “run” the business for example. They would handle contracts/negotiations/marketing and you can do the coding. In a sense you would work for your parents. This would allow you to legally earn money and your parents can be present during any interactions with a client.

Of course you can also do volunteer work in your local area, churches, community facilities and events, schools might be avenues to gain experience as a coder/designer. As above your parents can be present for any interactions with clients.

An age limit for learning stuff? Nah, you’re fine. Maybe don’t apply for a job without checking with your parents first, but learning stuff is fine. (I can’t speak for your parents, of course, but I’ve got kids your age and older, and I’d be totally fine with them learning anything serious that they want to learn.)

You were in college when OP was born? Wow, you’re young. I was married and a father.

Go ahead education system “primary school then prep school then secondary school” is a wrong system
Learn now and start a freelance job

I was 11-12 when I started HTML, and then quickly moved on to CSS and PHP. There isn’t an age limit, but I think we can all agree that we wish we had started to learn to code earlier!
Programming is a way of thinking, and I think if you start early on your brain can adapt itself very quickly to that new way of thinking, something that gets trickier as you get older.

I would get your English grammar perfected as a main priority. But nothing wrong with starting out on this course. You have to start somewhere!
And don’t say “Like” unless necessary.

Hi I’m not sure if there is an age limit to join FCC (I can’t think of a reason anyway)

I have a son about your age, and I would be pleased to find out he was interested in learning something like programming, but since he is so young, I would hope that he would talk to me about it before joining websites full of adults.

I think you should talk to your mom about your interest and take the time to explain it to her and allow her to be in the room when you work if she wants, etc. Then she will see you are being responsible and mature, and probably be proud that you are learning something (compared to many young people who are just hanging out on social media!).

Parents just worry about their kids online like you say, but are more likely to feel they are safe when they know what is happening and what it is about. I don’t agree with anyone who says “just do it” on here if you feel your mom might get worried about you and then cut it off…better to be up front with her and descriptive from the start then she knows you are safe and respects your judgement (hopefully).

Sabrina