How I got started... (Score 1)

Well, I'm not a programmer, or a *nix kernel hacker, just a front-end web developer and designer. I got into computers from an early age because my dad showed me video games on them... then, when I was 11, I wanted to create a website for a StarCraft gaming clan (lollums). It was really cool creating something like that, and I enjoyed the challenge.

I messed around with that for a while, but I really started to get into it when I was 16 and couldn't find a job. I thought that maybe I should try doing freelance web design.

Now at 19 I'm pretty much financially self sufficient, I work at an ad agency and freelance on the side, and am also in school. Tell your son that he could be making $50/hr freelancing during college. It's rewarding and challenging, and it will sure beat his friends' restaurant jobs.