Here's Why YOU need to be on LinkedIn

Two of the best decisions I've made in my life might be:

1. Having LinkedIn.
2. Having LinkedIn.

Seriously.

So here's an informal walkthrough of how LinkedIn can benefit you even as a high schooler, with some real-life examples.

1. Get the ball rolling.

Look at my profile. Most of what you see started with me simply joining smaller NPOs, taking opportunities that were available, and using those experiences to eventually apply for things that seemed way out of my league.

That's the snowball effect.

One experience gives you credibility for the next. That gives you access to something bigger. Then something even bigger.

It's almost an exponential curve of cumulative experience. You don't need to start at the top. You just need to start.

2. LinkedIn can literally pay you.

Fayez Bhai went from Notre Dame College to MIT this year and is also a two-time IBO medalist. Through LinkedIn, he picked up paid work with companies including OpenAI.

Hamim Bhai, also from Notre Dame College and now at Emory University, got a paid opportunity to train the USABO team through LinkedIn.

These aren't isolated cases. If people know what you can do, opportunities start finding you.

3. And it's not just about money.

LinkedIn helped me get my TEDx talk.

But more importantly, it taught me something I don't think enough high schoolers realize:

You don't have to wait until you're older to do meaningful things.

Once you stop thinking "I'm just a high schooler," you start realizing that, in some situations, you might actually execute better than the adults in the room.

So yeah.

Get LinkedIn.

Post your work. Join the small organizations. Say yes to opportunities. Build experience.

You never know which seemingly insignificant opportunity becomes the one that changes everything.