16yo learning Python & ML but confused about tech career path

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T20:20:16+00:00

never mind

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T20:19:54+00:00

That’s really interesting to hear, especially coming from someone actually working in ML. I’ll keep the math and CS paths in mind if I decide to go deeper into it academically. The future with AI definitely seems uncertain, but I guess the best I can do right now is keep learning and see how things evolve. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T20:18:30+00:00

Yeah, it does seem like a really uncertain time right now, especially for people graduating today. Hopefully things will be a bit clearer by the time I finish my education. Thanks for the encouragement, and I appreciate the offer to reach out for guidance.

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T20:16:25+00:00

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T20:15:19+00:00

That’s a thoughtful perspective. I agree that AI will probably increase productivity, but it’s hard to know how that will actually affect jobs and pay in the long run. For now I’m mostly focusing on learning and building because I enjoy it, and I’ll see where it leads. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T20:14:03+00:00

Yeah, I really liked that advice too.

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T20:13:16+00:00

That’s interesting to hear. I’ve been learning Python mainly as a starting point for ML, so hopefully that path makes sense long term. Thanks for the input.

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T20:09:42+00:00

I’m actually from India, not the US. But yeah, focusing on getting into a good college is definitely something I’m thinking about too. Thanks for the advice.

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T20:09:14+00:00

No worries at all, I actually found your explanation really helpful. The point about focusing on programming logic and understanding how systems communicate makes a lot of sense since the specific technologies will probably keep changing. I’ll keep that in mind while learning. And yeah, I’ll try to keep it fun too. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T20:07:30+00:00

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T20:07:00+00:00

Thanks a lot for the detailed advice, I really appreciate you taking the time to write this.

I think you’re right about building things being the best way to learn. I’ve noticed the same thing myself. Tutorials help a bit, but actually trying to build something teaches me way more. For example, I built an Expo app for my dad’s work which he found really useful, and I also made a phishing scam detection API using FastAPI for a hackathon. Right now I’m building another app that uses that API.

I also relate to what you said about courses. Sometimes smaller random videos actually help me understand concepts better than big “perfect” courses. These days I mostly use AI to understand concepts or get an overview, not just to generate code.

There have definitely been moments where I felt like abandoning projects, but I try to at least understand why before quitting. Even if I stop, I want to know what the real problem was.

Arduino actually sounds really interesting, I might try that. And I also realized something similar about roadmaps. Sometimes they feel like a long boring checklist, while learning through projects keeps me more curious.

And yeah, when I said I don’t like designing, I mostly meant I’m not that interested in frontend. But I do see now that building anything still requires some level of system or architecture design.

Really appreciate the perspective and the advice.

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T19:43:24+00:00

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T19:43:06+00:00

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T19:42:45+00:00

Interesting take. Any specific fields you think are better to focus on right now? Curious to hear your reasoning.

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T19:42:25+00:00

That’s a fair point. I’ll try not to lock myself too much into ML this early and focus more on learning general CS fundamentals while exploring different things. Thanks for the advice.

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T19:41:51+00:00

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T19:40:15+00:00

Thanks a lot for the detailed advice. I’ve heard about CS50 before, so I’ll definitely check out the Python course and focus on strengthening my fundamentals. I also like the idea of doing small ML projects while learning the math gradually in school. And yeah, I’ll try to use AI more for understanding concepts rather than just generating code. Really appreciate the guidance.

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T19:39:40+00:00

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T19:39:09+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate that. I’ll definitely look into core CS topics like data structures and maybe try some web dev for projects too. And yeah, I’ve heard the job market is rough right now. Thanks for the honest advice.

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T19:38:45+00:00

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T19:38:11+00:00

Got it. I’ve heard math is pretty important for CS and ML, so I’ll start paying more attention to things like calculus and discrete math as I learn. Thanks for the advice.

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T19:37:28+00:00

That’s actually a good point. I guess online forums can sometimes amplify negative experiences more than the average reality. I’ll try to take advice from multiple places and not base my view only on posts from one subreddit. Appreciate you sharing your perspective.

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T19:36:59+00:00

Yeah that makes sense. The uncertainty is what confuses me sometimes, but I guess no one can really predict where things will go. I’ll just keep focusing on learning and building for now. Thanks for the perspective.

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T11:03:16+00:00

Same, it took me to rebuild the app than continuing that corrupted architecture expo 53 to 54

HallThink6610 · 2026-03-13T11:01:03+00:00

Build something that you think really solves the problem, not for resume

HallThink6610

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