You’re young. People will judge you.
That’s what I used to think before I had any work experience. That was years ago.
Now, with more exposure, I realized my initial conclusion was wrong.
The biggest lesson I’ve learned as someone new to a field is : your biggest asset is your curiosity.
I have placed myself in a couple of new fields in the past couple of years, and I’m always amazed by how helpful people want to be.
There’s a phrase about being young and dumb, and there’s another phrase about being young and hungry. I think someone’s curiosity determines which side of the coin they land on.
Young and dumb “whipper-snappers” like to pretend they know everything. Nobody knows everything. Not even industry veterans.
Young and hungry folks recognize how little they know and see it as a challenge. It becomes a bigger game to them – make sense of gibberish.
As a young person, the best thing you can do is establish yourself as someone who is young and hungry in a new field. That’s how you make yourself interesting to others and communicate your interest in them. Curiosity is the bedrock of genuine connection.