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I'm 19 (20 this year) started using Linux with my first Gentoo server at age 16. Did my CISCO CCNA during year 11 and 12 of my high school along side another certification in IT. Used much of my time off to do unpaid work experience and was lucky enough to get experience at places like CISCO and EMC. Spent many many weekends and weeknights playing around with linux and windows servers and when i graduated school last year i found a job in IT for a small software company. I was very lucky in having a company take the risk hiring me just out of school to manage their pretty simple IT infrastructure. Over the last year ive been there i have started deploying some company products in the cloud and Ive found myself managing Linux servers and the systems to manage them. Apache, PostgreSQL, Zabbix, High availability ect...

So my question is this, would i be considered a joke at the age of 19 looking for a serious job in system administration?

How can i make my age and experience less of a factor to potential employers?

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This is off-topic for ServerFault. Please see the FAQ, especially the section What kind of questions should I not ask here?. – kce Jan 16 at 3:51
What @kce said. Unfortunately I do feel for you, but really, you have to start at the bottom and work your way up. Get a job doing helpdesk support and make sure that you're oustanding at what you do and if you're working at a company worth being promoted at, you'll be noticed. – Mark Henderson♦ Jan 16 at 3:59
This probably will get closed as off topic, but I feel compelled to give you an answer. If you can pass the CCNA test in high school, you're going to be worlds ahead of your peers when you reach engineer levels of career. Everyone has to do their time though, and many of us started out in helpdesk land. My suggestion to you, is to find an environment where your skills can thrive and hopefully where you can learn how IT interacts with the businesses it services. – SpacemanSpiff Jan 16 at 4:00
I did read the FAQ and it did appear to be in a gray area. – Silverfire Jan 16 at 4:00
In all the places I've worked, job applicants would not be taken seriously without either a large amount of industry experience (10+ years) or a Computer Science/Engineering degree plus several years experience. You may be able to get a decent job, but IMHO your chances will be much higher if you got yourself at least a 4-year college degree. – ErikA Jan 16 at 4:00
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closed as off topic by kce, ErikA, WesleyDavid, Mark Henderson♦ Jan 16 at 3:59

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