[andrewcamel]

Lachlan, make sure you're open to job opportunities that aren't initially in software. When I was 13, a doctor (and close friend of the family) hired me to organize sign-in documents for new patients at his office. While there was no mention of software at the beginning, you better bet that by the end of the summer, I had finished a tool that let patients sign in electronically and invalidated the need for my initial job.

Just don't be dismissive of initially non-software opportunities, especially because those are the types of opportunities you're most likely going to see from family friends (the only people who might be able to hire you at this age).

[r00fus]

Just wanted to second what Andrew is saying here.

In my experience, the most valuable knowledge in software (unless you're in the elite crew of coders) is domain knowledge - the ability to bridge the "functional" or "business" needs with the software that can automate/improve/innovate in that space.

You can be a mediocre coder and bring incredible value to a team by knowing the domain very well.

You only get this kind of knowledge by studying or living it.