This 14-Yr-Old Made It To Musk’s SpaceX But Got Blocked On LinkedIn
Do you remember what you were doing at 14? It could have been a lot of things but being a full-time employee at one of the world’s most technologically advanced organizations was likely not it. However, that’s exactly what Kairan Quazi is doing at 14.
Quazi recently became the youngest engineer to have been employed at tech mogul Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Founded in 2002, SpaceX is a spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and satellite communications company. Among the many services it provides, SpaceX also operates Starlink - a satellite internet constellation that provides internet access coverage to over 54 countries. And Quazi will be working with Starlink as a software engineer.
Quazi, a graduate of Santa Clara University’s (SCU) School of Engineering, recently shared on LinkedIn and Instagram that he would be working with SpaceX’s Starlink team. Quazi will be graduating from college on June 17 and he starts work next month. He’s the youngest graduate in the school’s 172-year history.
“'I will be joining the coolest company on the planet as a Software Engineer on the Starlink engineering team. One of the rare companies that did not use my age as an arbitrary and outdated proxy for maturity and ability” shared Quazi on LinkedIn.
However, mere days after he used the platform to make the announcement, he was kicked out of it because he didn’t meet LinkedIn’s age requirements. The minimum age requirement to sign up on LinkedIn is 16.
Read ahead to find out what life has been like for this real-life young Sheldon who started college when he was just 9, juggled interviews with homework, and had a lot to say about being blocked by LinkedIn because he didn’t meet the platform’s age requirements.
Real-Life Young Sheldon!
Imagine a two-year-old boy who speaks in full sentences. The next year, this boy, aged 3, corrects his teacher. At the time, this pre-schooler knew more about the constitutional requirements to be U.S. president than his teacher.
The pattern–of correcting his teacher and knowing more, a lot more, than the average kindergartner–continued till the third grade.
In third grade, he corrected his science teacher because he felt her knowledge of gravity lacked depth. According to his teacher, that correction deserved a spot on the ‘naughty list’ for the rest of the school year.
No, this isn’t a summary of the first season of Young Sheldon. Rather, it’s a summary of Quazi’s childhood.
In his own words, adults were always telling Quazi what to say - but more importantly, what not to say. It wasn’t until the doctors tested the young kid and discovered that he had surprisingly high EQ (emotional intelligence) and IQ, that he finally felt like he was being heard. His IQ is above the 99.9th percentile.
When science and tests declared that he was “profoundly gifted”, Quazi was admitted into Mensa International, a program for individuals with a high IQ. At the same time, he became a Davidson Institute Young Scholar.
Shortly afterward, at the age of 9, Quazi enrolled in Las Positas College, while simultaneously studying in Grade 4 at Helios, a school for gifted children. Yes, he attended both school and college.
“You probably have an image of 'gifted' kids as weird bookworms with no social skills. But I think of myself as any other normal, happy kid,” shared Quazi in a personal essay he wrote for the Huffington Post.
Quazi, who described himself as an extrovert in the essay, also went on to become a STEM tutor in college. Reports suggest that he was 'one of the most sought-after members of the tutoring staff'.
At the age of 10, he received his high school diploma. A year later, aged 11, he transferred to Santa Clara to study computer science and engineering.
The Secret To The Genius
Quazi, who loved collecting Pokemon cards as a kid, is also a fan of reading and has a dry wit more common to people twice his age. Then again, age is clearly just a number in this young man’s case.
At the age of 9, he listed the following as his favourite books from 2018:
- Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Astrophysics for People in a Hurry,
- George Orwell’s 1984
- Game of Thrones series
And had this to say about his reading habit, “I am also obsessed with books. A good book makes me forget to finish my meals and get ready on time for school. This causes my parents to yell a lot. Wait, isn’t reading supposed to be a good thing?”
However, Pokemon and books are not the sources of his genius - at least, that’s not what the doctors decoded. According to doctors, he was capable of “asynchronous learning”.
Asynchronous learning allows individuals to learn outside the constraints of time and place and facilitates faster learning. In Quazi’s own words, this meant he was able to grasp some topics at an accelerated pace - but still struggled with others. And yes, it wasn't always A’s on tests.
“I learned linear algebra concepts before I ever took a formal algebra class. But there are other areas where my brain is still catching up, like handwriting, spelling, and taking notes,” said Quazi when he was 9.
Flying Into Space
When Quazi transferred to SCU in 2020, he also started an undergraduate internship. During his internship, he worked in the field of artificial intelligence at Intel’s research lab. In multiple media reports, Quazi has credited both, Las Positas and Intel for accepting him, and “changing things for the better”.
Quazi always wanted to work with SpaceX and be a part of something bigger than himself. He finally landed an interview with the organization and went through ten rounds of interviews before being hired by SpaceX. He starts his job next month. And his mom is moving with him. Well, because he is only 14.
Removed From LinkedIn
Schools, colleges, and organizations opened doors for him despite his young age, because of his advanced intellect. In fact, the young teen has been juggling interviews with homework for a while now.
However, he received a contrary response from LinkedIn.
Quazi was removed from the platform due to his age. LinkedIn has a minimum age requirement of 16, and Quazi fell two years short. He posted about the same on his Instagram, calling it “illogical, primitive nonsense”.
“I can be qualified enough to land one of the most coveted engineering jobs in the world but not qualified enough to have access to a professional social media platform. LinkedIn showing everyone how regressive some tech company policies are,” added Quazi in his Instagram caption.
Many people came out in support in the comments section of the post. However, LinkedIn is yet to respond to his post.
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