How to continue to grow as a high-schooler?

Question

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 · Accepted Answer

When 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/
I'd start by reading. That's it. Just reading and thinking.

mbg721 · Answer

I 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.