Programming job for a highschool graduate

So from the looks of things, I'll be graduating highschool in June, and starting university in September. And I'd really like to have some sort of entry-level programming job in the 2 months or so when I'm not in school.

Even though I haven't taken any formal computer science-related education, I'm fairly confident in my self-taught programming skills in C, C++, Python. Problem is, I've been looking at summer programming internships, and it seems as though they all expect the student to be at least one or two years through their computer science degree.

I'm living in the Vancouver area right now, but I'm willing to work pretty well anywhere in North America. I don't currently have the rights to work in the US, though, and I'm not that familiar with the process required to obtain a green card, so I'm not sure how much of a deterrent that would be to potential American employers.

Really, I'm just wondering if you have any suggestions or if I'm just not looking in the right places (or whether I'm out of my mind, expecting to work as a programmer right out of highschool!)

Honestly, you'll never get a paid internship without qualifications. If you want experience, try to get involved in an opensource project.


As an aside, it's very straightforward for a Canadian to get a work Visa for the US so long as there is a company on the other side trying to hire you.

You may still be in time for Google Summer of Code.

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Originally Posted by Perspective

As an aside, it's very straightforward for a Canadian to get a work Visa for the US so long as there is a company on the other side trying to hire you.

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Not really. At least not for me. I got turned back twice at the airport when my company tried to transfer me to the U.S. with an L1-B visa. We finally had to apply directly to the INS and wait 6-8 weeks instead of getting the visa at the airport.
They also only give out a certain number of visas each year...

Getting a Green Card on the other hand is next to impossible unless you've got at least a Bachelors or Masters degree.

Don't know. I know here in Australia, the competition for internships is pretty intense. The odd thing is, Microsoft comes over here to recruit interns for the U.S. (and pay your accommodation).

You won't be in the same ballpark as a [good] 3rd year Computer Science or Software Engineering student, sorry. Since they seem to like to get the interns to write and perform tests, so just knowing a programming language really isn't enough.

Alright, thanks for the heads-up. I think I'll try Google Summer of Code for now.