Maximum PC

im 13, i want to be in the tech industry when i grow up, what should i be doing now to prepare.

everything you can you should start by doing your CompTIA A+ and i have a guide sticky'd so start there bud

i've tried some free online a+ tests, all they ask about it like pentium 2s, win 9x, and other really old stuff. Whats up with that? Do they have those questions in the real test, or are the free one just outdated.

Saying you want to be in the tech industry is very very broad. At your age, that is ideal.

Are you university / college bound? If so, you could aim to study programming (computer science), hardware design (computer engineering), networking and security (computer science), pure computer science (comp. sci. and math), etc.

If you are aiming for a junior college, you could study web design, tech support and software maintenance, etc.

If you are aiming to work straight out of high school, you should start preparing for certification exams in the next couple of years.

Incidentally, the pay and benefits for each type of position tends to drop as you move down the list. Start saving for college.

i would like to at least get a masters degree in university. Next year in high school i am taking computer science, where you learn pascal.

acctualy that aint to true certifications can sometimes bring you even more pay then people with a masters in university.

a cisco CCIE can bring home 300 000$ a year working for himself doing contracts... and CCIE is the highest certification in cisco BTW.

Wait until you get to university before you start making plans.

University is a huge jump from high school; grad school is a larger jump from undergrad.

Having said that .. give'er!

I don't like to give advice based on extremes.

Bill Gates is a multi-billionaire who dropped out of college. This doesn't mean that I will advise people to drop out of college.

People who make $300K doing consulting work are not the kind of people who ask very general advice on a magazine's forum.

Agree 100% there Jip. Going to college as an undergrad is a lot tougher than you can imagine. (Well maybe you can, but people that haven't been there can't imagine it).

Anyways, I took an Info Tech class in high school. I got an A. If I took that same class here, I guarantee you I would get lower, maybe even possibly a B.

College is just a lot harder than people that aren't in it think.

@Sheldon: A certification is not going to get you a $300,000 salary. In fact, good luck getting a $300,000 salary at all. Computer people are not worth that much (yeah, I know sad). If it was that profitable of an area, how many people do you think would take this route and make the $300,000 rather than go to college? A LOT.

Plus, with all these other people the salary of the $300,000 worker would go down because there are more people and of course there would be people willing to work for a tiny bit less, which will in the end drive down salaries.

Hackman: I happen to know a CCIE that does contracting and clears
300 000$ a year atleast... and i said a CCIE who is self employed could make that kind a money...

I sincerely doubt that. That is a TON of money.

Whoever told you that is simply not telling the truth. If that was true imagine how many people would have that?

Self employed means nothing. So the person is self employed, so what? You are basically hiring yourself when you do this. You better hope the people you contract out to recognize the certification

If you still think you are right, then show me proof.

Here is my proof: Link, Link and Link.

(Also before you come up with a story of knowing someone that has this certification, remember there are only 16,335 people with the CCIE (according to Wikipedia) and according to Cisco less than the 3% obtain it in the whole world)

Again .. one person does not provide basis for advice. Several people do not provide the basis for advice.

College graduates make more money than high school graduates on average. It is irresponsible to ignore that FACT when people ask for advice.

If you haven't been to college, maybe you shouldn't be providing advice about it.

You must mean Yen not Dollars.

I was thinking pesos.

You MIGHT know someone who makes $300k, but that is a sad rarity. It all depends on market of employment, size of company, and many, many other factors. CCIE's around my area are maxing at about $150k, and this is for a very elite group - average is $80k.

And certs and papers saying you know this-and-that doesn't mean a damned thing if you don't know this-and-that.

Get a college degree - any degree worth while. It always gives you something to fall back on when the tech market burns again (as it did when the dot.com's collapsed).

Fix your friends' computers for practical experience. Not sure what the legal working age is in your area (in MD, it's 14) but maybe check out some programs for young folks during the summer.

At 13, you still have high school ahead of you and you may change your mind. My advice is to do really well in math. If possible take your higher level math classes in high school rather than college.

If you feel the same way when you get in high school, think about parallel enrollment at your community college. For your senior yr in college, you will actual earn college credits, so when you grad high school you will be a sophmore in college.

in grade 9, i am taking grade 10 computer science, so what will i do in grade 12?

Since I don't know what your high school offers, these are broad suggestions:

C+ programming
Database programming like SQL
Java programming
Website stuff like Flash, Javascript, Advanced HTML
Networking / Network security
Algebra I, II
Geometry / Trigonometry
Calculus
Discrete Math

Also, look into AP credit and/or CLEP credit. You may be able to get college credit by taking classes you would have to take anyways in high school (if you do well enough on the exam).