I'm a rising junior (going into 11th grade) and have a great desire to find and participate in a programming internship while I am still at high school. I have a lot of free time during the school year, and summer I am generally free, grades are not an issue.
I know C++, Java, PHP, and I know some Python/Javascript. Also, I have some experience with reverse engineering using IDA Pro. I'm take interest in primarily backend development, and I haven't been able to find any opportunities for high school students. The closest offers I found was a front end development position (I really don't like design), and a tutoring position. If I was only interested in making money, the tutoring position would be fine, however, I wish to have real world backend development experience.
A big issue with finding a job during high school is the legal issues. For reference, I live in Massachusetts and I am 16 years old, so I am legally allowed to obtain a work permit which doesn't prohibit programming jobs. I'm unsure what to do at this point, as there are no opportunities available in my state involving what I'd like to do.
I was wondering if anyone had gone through the same process I am trying to do now, and if anyone had tips on how to achieve my goal of finding a programming internship. Thanks in advance.
It is not a duplicate about the engineering internship at 16 question because the answers to that question primarily pertains to Engineering, not Programming. Also, the answers seem to all give one answer "networking" which I have made clear I do not really have "networks"/people to contact.
