Ally Petitt: Youngest OSCP at 16yo. Over 11 CVEs by 18

I sometimes dream of what it would have looked like to become a doctor (or PA or similar) instead of choosing Software. Mainly the allure of interacting with and helping more people.

This young person sounds like they are motivated enough to succeed at any study they put their mind to. Of course many companies will deny a young person employment based on age, just like they would deny them employment based on a lack of a formal degree.

But one day you turn 25, you are the right age, and you have the right degree. Then the praises for saving the company 70% on their cloud computing costs stop, and the same managers start asking you to work the weekend to fix other people’s code. And if you oblige, the burnout will become as real as a Doctor’s burnout, I imagine.

I have gone over only one of her blog posts [1], but wow! Excellent writing, well paced, easy to understand. In fact, many of her posts could hit the front-page here on HN.

[1]: https://ally-petitt.com/en/posts/2025-04-22_wavlink-router-h...

Title: How I became a hacker before I finished high school (2024)

I hope this translates into an enjoyable life