On Being the Youngest in the Room
i'm 20 years old. most of my colleagues are 28-45.
the average experience level on my team is maybe 8+ years. i have... 18 months.
here's what that's like.
the imposter aspect
"they must have made a mistake hiring me." "i'm not at their level." "they're just being nice because i'm young."
these thoughts come often. i fight them often.
the actual reality
people mostly don't care about age. they care about contribution.
when i do good work, i get respect. when i struggle, i get help. my age is rarely mentioned.
the hierarchy is based on skill and knowledge, not years alive.
advantages of being young
fresh perspective: sometimes i ask questions that people with more experience would never think to ask. "why do we do it this way?" leads to good conversations.
no baggage: i don't have years of patterns to unlearn. i learn the current best practices without fighting old habits.
energy: i can work long hours when needed. (not healthy long-term, but useful during crunch.)
learning speed: my brain is still plastic. learning feels natural.
disadvantages of being young
experience gap: there's no shortcut for having seen things before. pattern recognition takes time.
credibility challenges: sometimes i have to prove myself more. fair? maybe not. real? yes.
life management: my colleagues have figured out work-life balance. i'm still learning basic adulting.
network: they've built relationships over years. i'm starting from zero.
advice to myself
- stop apologizing for being young
- own your contributions
- ask questions freely (curiosity is an asset)
- learn from experience around you
- your age is relevant but not defining
what i've realized
age is a proxy for experience. but it's not the only way to gain experience.
i've been coding since 14. i've done research. i've shipped production code.
the years are compressed, but the work is real.
someone asked when i was graduating today. i said i graduated a year ago. the look of surprise was... interesting.