How do I find the computer job or skills right for me?

• See the Guidance Councelor of your High School
  
• Find any internships
  
• There are other Careers in the Computer Industry besides programming
  
• What aspects of Gaming interest you? Graphics, Game Engines, Storyline, etc.
  

Talk to your parents about what you like to do/be in the not so distant future. I'm sure they can give you some good advice & support.

Just the fact that you use computers so much and enjoy it, probably suggests that you actually do have computer skills already. Most tech geeks acquire all their knowledge simply by playing around with things, tinkering with this and that until they've unconsciously become an expert.

In terms of programming. There's a few good threads on lockergnome that suggest where to start, but I've always been a fan of sitting down with a beginners book, or online tutorial and just working through the lessons. The first language I learned was Java and of course my first app was the typical "Hello World" app. Always a good place to start.

McCheers

it depends, you need to find something that you like doing and wont go insane when made to do it 500 times a week. For a local factory, I handle some networking and computer repairs when needed but i don't know if I will be able to keep my sanity if I had the job full time in a larger company. Things you enjoy doing can become frustrating if you do it over and over enough.

If you have a lot of patients and can handle working long hours doing things you don't want to do then programming may be right for you, it is a hard and boring job but the pay can be very good. I tried programming before but gave up on it

I recommend trying a little of everything then pick what you like the best to continue in. For me I will become a teacher and do IT work as a side job once in a while (don't want to turn what I love doing into full time work as that will make it have it)