Investing in Young People Through Tech Mentorship

I got started working in the technology space as a middle schooler. One of my neighbors who worked at the insurance office on Main Street in the little town I grew up knew I knew a thing or two about computers, so she would occasionally call me in when she was having printer problems or the Internet was acting up. And it just kind of grew organically from there - by the time I was in high school, I had several clients in the small town I grew up in who could call me to help with their computers and websites, and an actual part-time job working at a computer repair shop & micro-ISP a couple towns over.

As a kid, I was pretty good with this stuff, and had a natural curiosity about how things worked. I was fortunate to have several adults in my life who were willing to give me opportunities to learn and grow, and trusted me enough to let me take on real responsibilities even though I was just a kid. Those experiences - both what I gained and what I was maybe lacking - shape how I think about working with young people today.

The Power of Early Opportunities

I occasionally wonder what some of my old clients did after I left town for college. I'm still taking care of one - maintaining a website for a couple that breeds cocker spaniels - but I didn't really keep up with the others. Did they find someone else local to help them out? Did they turn to a big faceless web hosting or IT support company? Did they give up and find less tech-y solutions to their problems? Or, as so many organizations without easy access to expertise do, just learn to get by and work around their broken systems?

What I do know is that those early opportunities changed my life. They gave me real-world experience, built my confidence, and set me on the path to where I am today. And now I have the chance to provide those same opportunities to others.

I've brought in a couple of high schoolers to work with me on projects over the years, and I've found that with the right guidance and mentorship, they can produce fantastic work. In previous jobs, I've interviewed candidates with years of experience and masters degrees from reasonable institutions that were less capable than some of the high schoolers I've worked with. An enthusiastic kid who's eager to learn and prove themselves can often outperform someone who's been in the industry for years but is complacent and set in their ways - or just jumped on the tech bandwagon looking for an easy path to a big paycheck.

Most high schoolers, even the really talented ones, don't have a lot of real-world experience or relevant skills yet. That's where mentorship makes all the difference. When paired with the right guidance and given a sense of purpose, direction, and ownership over their work, young people are able to learn quickly and produce good results. Plus, these hands-on, apprenticeship-style experiences help to bridge the gap between theory and practice in a way that schools & workshops & classes can't, and help young people develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills that will serve them well throughout their lives regardless of what they end up doing.

My business isn't anywhere near the point where I can think about bringing on more full-time help yet - but when I have opportunities to, I love to bring in enthusiastic young people looking to get their start in the industry to help with various projects. It's incredibly rewarding to see them grow and develop their skills, and to know that I'm helping to shape the next generation of tech talent. And yeah, I might be able to get more done faster by throwing some of these problems at AI tools or outsourcing the work to some faceless corporation, but I find it way more fulfilling to work with someone who is eager to learn and grow.

When you hire locally and invest in young people, you're not just getting tech work done - you're supporting your community and helping to build a stronger local economy. You're giving someone opportunities that could change their life trajectory. You're keeping knowledge and skills within your community rather than sending money to distant corporations.

If you're a high schooler looking to get into the technology space, don't be afraid to reach out to local businesses and offer your services. You never know where it might lead. Or get in touch with me - I'm always looking for enthusiastic young people to mentor and work with, although my enthusiasm for this kind of stuff tends to be significantly higher than how much paid work I actually have available to distribute.

And if you're a small business or individual looking for help with technology, consider hiring somebody local - even a high schooler. You'll be supporting someone in your community who is eager to learn and grow, and you might be surprised at the quality of work they can produce.

I'm actively looking to facilitate more of this at a larger scale. A non-profit I work with is interested in starting something up to train, recruit, and mentor high schoolers doing local community-focused tech work, and then facilitating connections between them and either local tech outfits like mine or directly with small businesses and community organizations in need of help. The goal is to create a sustainable pipeline of young talent getting real-world experience while providing affordable, high-quality tech services to local communities.

If you're a young person interested in doing local community-focused work and looking for mentorship and real-world experience, a small business or community organization looking for help with your website, software, or IT needs, someone with deep pockets interested in supporting youth entrepreneurship and tech workforce development, or just want to chat more about this idea, get in touch.