Under 18, No Degree, Data Analyst Intern: My 2025 Journey
If you think age is stopping you from starting in data, this story is for you.
Practical project breakdowns, hard lessons, and experiments from a self-taught builder learning ML and shipping apps.
In 2025, I went from “Who even hires under 18?” to “Welcome to the team” here’s everything that happened in between.
How it all started
I didn’t plan to become a data analyst.
One random day in 2025, I was scrolling YouTube just to “learn some skills” and clicked on a video where someone was interviewing a data analyst about his journey. He was asked a simple question:
“What did you do to become a data analyst?”
His answer felt very straightforward:
He said he had mastered Power BI, Tableau, Python, and had a good understanding of data cleaning, processing, and EDA, and that’s how he landed a “lakhs” package job.
That was the first time I properly heard the term “data analyst” in a serious way. In school and society, people usually only talk about engineers, doctors, or CAs. This was the first time I saw a different path that still involved logic, numbers, and problem‑solving.
I got hooked instantly. I didn’t waste much time thinking. I just decided:
“I want to try this.”
Learning Python from an AI
The first skill I picked was Python.
At that time, the free limits on ChatGPT were not very strict, so I basically treated it like a personal tutor. I learned Python almost completely from an AI — from basic syntax and loops to functions and small projects.
I wasn’t just watching tutorials; I was constantly asking questions like:
“Explain this like I’m 15.”
“Give me 5 small exercises.”
“Check my code and tell me what’s wrong.”
Slowly, I started feeling a bit confident with coding.
Then ChatGPT suggested something bold:
Start freelancing with my beginner data skills.
My first freelancing attempt
So I opened my first account on Freelancer.com.
I wrote a small description about myself, uploaded a basic profile picture, and added a few tiny projects I had done — nothing impressive, just simple analysis and mini dashboards.
I wasn’t getting clients, but I also wasn’t just sitting and waiting. While my profile existed in the background, I kept learning:
Power BI dashboards
Basic Tableau
More Python
SQL fundamentals
Most of my projects in those early months were very basic, but they were important. Each one taught me a new concept, even if the output didn’t look like a “professional portfolio” yet.
From learning to hunting for internships
By the time June came, I had a small collection of beginner‑level projects and some confidence.
ChatGPT started recommending me some internships and roles I could apply for. That’s when a big doubt hit me:
“Who will hire me? I’m under 18.”
For a while, this thought sat in my head and tried to stop me. But I decided to ignore this “sorrow mind” and just try.
I created my first resume and CV with:
My projects
My skills (Python, Power BI, Tableau, SQL, EDA)
A short intro about being self‑taught
Then I started applying.
My first ever interview: Market Researcher
After around 1.5 months of applying, I finally got my first interview call — not as a data analyst, but as a Market Researcher.
Honestly, I didn’t even fully know what to expect from an interview. I was nervous and clueless.
The interview started with a female HR professional. She asked the classic opener:
“Tell me about yourself.”
I tried to answer honestly, but my answer was not very structured. I even said something like, “I’ll skip the boring parts, sir, let me tell you…” — which sounds funny now, but in that moment, it was just pure nervousness.
Then she asked:
“How do you evaluate your work?”
Since this is the era of AI, I confidently said that I use Perplexity to help me check and research things. I even added that its CEO is Indian — even though at that point, I didn’t really know his name properly.
She then asked:
“How much experience do you have with Canva, Miro, and Notion?”
And there, I got stuck.
I didn’t have proper experience with those tools, and my answers were weak and unconvincing.
At the end, they mentioned some working hours and payment details, and for a moment, I thought:
“Maybe I got selected?”
But after that, there was silence. No email. No rejection. No confirmation. Just… nothing.
That was my first reality check.
The second chance: a data analysis interview
A few days later, around Shivratri, I got another call.
I had just returned from the temple when an HR person called and asked:
“Is this you?”
Then they asked me to introduce myself and explain who I was and what I do. This time, I was more prepared. I had practiced my introduction, and I was able to speak more clearly and confidently.
They told me that I would have a data analysis interview scheduled for the next day.
I started hoping:
“Maybe this is the one. Maybe this time, I’ll finally get selected.”
The next day, the interview started. There was a senior person on the call — his voice sounded strict and slightly angry.
He began asking questions.
I answered, but with some stuttering and hesitations. My responses were not perfect, but they were more honest and structured than before.
Somewhere between the 15th and 20th question, I silently told myself:
“I don’t think I’ll get selected again.”
At the end, they said:
“You will get a reply in one or two days.”
I remembered my first interview experience and didn’t keep many expectations this time.
The under‑18 question: managing school and work
In the middle of this data analysis interview, one question stood out:
“You are under 18. How will you manage your school, your studies, and this internship together?”
This was a very real question. It’s easy to think about doing many things, but actually living that schedule is different.
I replied confidently:
“Yes, I will be able to manage.”
And I meant it.
My plan was simple:
Come home from school, open my laptop, and work on internship tasks from 2 pm to 7 pm, or sometimes even till 10 pm.
For me, this wasn’t just about money or a line on my resume. It was about proving to myself that I could handle responsibility at a young age.
The message that changed everything
I almost forgot about the first Market Research interview. I didn’t receive anything from them — not even a rejection.
Then, about two days after the data analysis interview, something unexpected happened.
I got a message:
“You join this group.”
For a second, I didn’t fully understand. Then it hit me:
“Wait… did I get selected?”
I joined the group.
To introduce myself properly, I even used ChatGPT to help me write a clean and confident introduction message.
They welcomed me, and in that moment, it felt huge.
After 2–3 months of continuous effort — learning late at night, building small projects, applying despite being under 18, facing interviews without experience — I had finally gotten my first internship.
It wasn’t just a selection. It was validation.
Living the intern life as an under‑18
Once I joined the group, I also saw another intern who was completing his internship and attending his last orientation. It reminded me that this was real — people actually finished this, grew from it, and moved on to better things.
From that point, my days looked something like this:
Morning: school and studies
After school: come home, open laptop
2 pm – 7 pm (sometimes till 10 pm): internship work, learning, figuring things out
It was tiring, but it never felt meaningless. Every day, I was one step further from “just a student who saw a random YouTube video” and one step closer to “a real data analyst in progress.”
What this journey taught me
Looking back, a few things stand out from my 2025 journey:
You don’t need permission to start
A YouTube video and an AI tutor were enough to begin.Being under 18 is not a full stop
It just means you have to prove your seriousness a bit more and manage your time better.Rejection and silence are part of the process
No response from one company doesn’t mean you’re not capable. Sometimes, it just means “not here, not yet.”Consistency beats confidence
I wasn’t always confident, but I was consistent — learning daily, applying, improving my resume, and trying again.
This was just Part 1 of the story.
The real journey started after getting that internship — the projects, the mistakes, the learning, the confusion, and how it shaped my goals for the future.
And that, maybe, deserves its own Part 2.