10 answers
Emeric
Student
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
4
Questions
Updated
1505 views
How can I build a portfolio in high school to get into IT?
I am already in a dual enrollment program taking IT classes, which I am aware is a very big step. However, I would like to know if there's any other things I could be doing to increase my chances of getting an IT position somewhere. I would like to try and be as desirable as possible as an employee, to hopefully get me far in life in the future doing something I enjoy.
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10 answers
Mary Ann Faue
Communications, Training, and People Development
59
Answers
Hayward, California
Updated
Mary Ann’s Answer
Hello Emeric,
You are clearly a proactive individual. My best advice about building a portfolio is to find some technology solutions for problems you see in your world. Maybe there's something at school that would run more efficiently if technology was added. Or maybe you play a sport, belong to a club, or belong to a religious group that has an opportunity to upgrade to a technology solution.
By applying a technology solution to solve a problem, you build a practical portfolio that you can show a potential employer when it's time to look for a job. In order to do this, it's important to write down the problem that needs to be solved, why it's important to solve the problem, what will be the benefit of solving the problem, what you did to solve the problem, and the end result of the solution you applied.
For example (this is a real life scenario that a high school student did).
1. Students were stuck sitting on a bus, ready to go on a field trip/ski trip while teachers and chaperones were trying to match up permission slips and students. More than an hour later, they could get on the road.
2. There had to be a better way to do this so that teachers and chaperones weren't frustrated by matching up the stuff and students didn't have to sit on a hot, crowded bus waiting.
3. A student created an app that enabled parents to give permission digitally. The teachers and chaperones could easily see on their device (computer/tablet/phone) whether or not they had a permission slip for everyone scheduled for the trip.
4. After the app was implemented, permission slips were easy to track, field trips left on time, and there was a reduction in paper used by the school.
Hope this gives you some ideas.
You are clearly a proactive individual. My best advice about building a portfolio is to find some technology solutions for problems you see in your world. Maybe there's something at school that would run more efficiently if technology was added. Or maybe you play a sport, belong to a club, or belong to a religious group that has an opportunity to upgrade to a technology solution.
By applying a technology solution to solve a problem, you build a practical portfolio that you can show a potential employer when it's time to look for a job. In order to do this, it's important to write down the problem that needs to be solved, why it's important to solve the problem, what will be the benefit of solving the problem, what you did to solve the problem, and the end result of the solution you applied.
For example (this is a real life scenario that a high school student did).
1. Students were stuck sitting on a bus, ready to go on a field trip/ski trip while teachers and chaperones were trying to match up permission slips and students. More than an hour later, they could get on the road.
2. There had to be a better way to do this so that teachers and chaperones weren't frustrated by matching up the stuff and students didn't have to sit on a hot, crowded bus waiting.
3. A student created an app that enabled parents to give permission digitally. The teachers and chaperones could easily see on their device (computer/tablet/phone) whether or not they had a permission slip for everyone scheduled for the trip.
4. After the app was implemented, permission slips were easy to track, field trips left on time, and there was a reduction in paper used by the school.
Hope this gives you some ideas.
Erica Kinch
Sales Specialist - 10 year retail sales management professional - Computer Science, Data
5
Answers
Horseheads, New York
Updated
Erica’s Answer
To build a strong IT portfolio in high school, focus on showing what you can do through small projects. Employers value curiosity, initiative, and practical skills more than experience at your age. Here’s how to create an impressive portfolio:
1. Start with Small, Practical Projects
Create simple projects that work well and show your skills. Examples include a basic website, a Python script for automating tasks, a small database, a basic network setup, or a cybersecurity lab write-up. For each project, explain what you built, why you built it, the tools you used, and what you learned.
2. Solve Real-World Mini-Problems
Help people you know with their tech issues. Fix a family member's tech setup, build a website for a school club, assist a teacher with data in Excel or Python, or set up a home network. These activities can be added as experience on your resume.
3. Join Online Learning Platforms
Use platforms like TryHackMe for cybersecurity, freeCodeCamp for web development, Kaggle for data projects, and GitHub for sharing your work. Completing even a few modules shows dedication and learning.
4. Create a Simple GitHub Portfolio
A well-organized GitHub profile is a strong asset. Include small repositories from school and personal projects with clear README files explaining each project. Good documentation reflects your technical skills.
Employers look for students who can solve real problems, learn new tools, finish tasks, ask insightful questions, and show consistency. Your dual-enrollment shows initiative, and these steps will enhance your competitiveness. Keep building small, consistent projects, and your portfolio will be stronger than many college students entering IT.
Pick one small project this month and upload it to GitHub.
Do a beginner track on TryHackMe or freeCodeCamp.
Add a simple project section to your resume.
Document every project clearly so employers can understand it.
1. Start with Small, Practical Projects
Create simple projects that work well and show your skills. Examples include a basic website, a Python script for automating tasks, a small database, a basic network setup, or a cybersecurity lab write-up. For each project, explain what you built, why you built it, the tools you used, and what you learned.
2. Solve Real-World Mini-Problems
Help people you know with their tech issues. Fix a family member's tech setup, build a website for a school club, assist a teacher with data in Excel or Python, or set up a home network. These activities can be added as experience on your resume.
3. Join Online Learning Platforms
Use platforms like TryHackMe for cybersecurity, freeCodeCamp for web development, Kaggle for data projects, and GitHub for sharing your work. Completing even a few modules shows dedication and learning.
4. Create a Simple GitHub Portfolio
A well-organized GitHub profile is a strong asset. Include small repositories from school and personal projects with clear README files explaining each project. Good documentation reflects your technical skills.
Employers look for students who can solve real problems, learn new tools, finish tasks, ask insightful questions, and show consistency. Your dual-enrollment shows initiative, and these steps will enhance your competitiveness. Keep building small, consistent projects, and your portfolio will be stronger than many college students entering IT.
Erica recommends the following next steps:
Sandeep Khandelwal
Software Engineer
50
Answers
San Ramon, California
Updated
Sandeep’s Answer
Hello Emeric,
You are already doing something great by being in a dual enrollment IT program. This alone shows initiative. To build a strong portfolio in high school, focus on small but real projects that show what you can actually do. This could be simple websites, basic apps, automation scripts, or even fixing and documenting tech problems you solved. Put your work on GitHub /Bitbucket and write short explanations about what the project does and what you learned.
You can also stand out by getting hands-on experience outside class. Help friends, teachers, or local groups with tech tasks, join coding or cybersecurity clubs, or participate in online challenges and hackathons. Learning how to explain your thinking, communicate clearly, and show curiosity matters just as much as technical skills. If you keep building, documenting, and learning consistently, you’ll already look very strong by the time you apply for IT roles.
You are already doing something great by being in a dual enrollment IT program. This alone shows initiative. To build a strong portfolio in high school, focus on small but real projects that show what you can actually do. This could be simple websites, basic apps, automation scripts, or even fixing and documenting tech problems you solved. Put your work on GitHub /Bitbucket and write short explanations about what the project does and what you learned.
You can also stand out by getting hands-on experience outside class. Help friends, teachers, or local groups with tech tasks, join coding or cybersecurity clubs, or participate in online challenges and hackathons. Learning how to explain your thinking, communicate clearly, and show curiosity matters just as much as technical skills. If you keep building, documenting, and learning consistently, you’ll already look very strong by the time you apply for IT roles.
David Allen
Consultant
84
Answers
Dallas, Texas
Updated
David’s Answer
That is a fantastic, proactive mindset, and dual enrollment is indeed a powerful first step toward making yourself a highly desirable candidate. To build a robust portfolio that will set you up for success in IT, you should focus on supplementing your academic knowledge with demonstrable, hands-on projects and in-demand certifications. Your portfolio should not just list what you know but show what you can do. Consider creating a personal website to host your portfolio, and definitely use a platform like GitHub to showcase all your code-based projects, as this is the industry standard for showing off technical skills.
To increase your desirability, your next steps should be centered on gaining practical, real-world experience and formal credentials. Prioritize pursuing an entry-level, industry-recognized certification like CompTIA A+ (for hardware and operating systems) or Google IT Support Professional Certificate; these credentials validate your foundational knowledge for entry-level roles like Help Desk, and pair incredibly well with your dual enrollment courses. In addition, seek out internships or volunteer opportunities within your school district's IT department or at a local small business, as this will give you professional experience and networking opportunities, which are critical for future employment. Finally, keep building out your personal projects—try creating a home lab, building your own website, or developing a small app, and document the process, challenges, and lessons learned for your portfolio.
To increase your desirability, your next steps should be centered on gaining practical, real-world experience and formal credentials. Prioritize pursuing an entry-level, industry-recognized certification like CompTIA A+ (for hardware and operating systems) or Google IT Support Professional Certificate; these credentials validate your foundational knowledge for entry-level roles like Help Desk, and pair incredibly well with your dual enrollment courses. In addition, seek out internships or volunteer opportunities within your school district's IT department or at a local small business, as this will give you professional experience and networking opportunities, which are critical for future employment. Finally, keep building out your personal projects—try creating a home lab, building your own website, or developing a small app, and document the process, challenges, and lessons learned for your portfolio.
Mrinalini K
Project manager
12
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Mrinalini’s Answer
Create projects that demonstrate your abilities, such as a simple website, a Python script for automation, or a basic database. Record what you made, the reasons behind it, and the lessons you gained.
Agree with Mrinalini's answer. Learn Python and SQL. It will position well in the IT market.
Isaac Joseph
Rahul Patil
Software engineer
13
Answers
Raleigh, North Carolina
Updated
Rahul’s Answer
In high school, the best portfolio is made by actually building things - even small ones. Pick a few simple ideas and turn them into working projects, like a basic website, a script that automates a task that you do often or a small app for school use. Focus on showing how you solved a problem and what you learned rather than making something perfect. Keep your code on GitHub and write a short explanation for each project. Over time, these small projects show initiative and curiosity, which is exactly what early IT employers look for.
Christopher Amundson
Software Developer
3
Answers
Everett, Washington
Updated
Christopher’s Answer
Use git to manage your portfolio. Start by building projects, as these will form your portfolio. In high school, it's hard to know what you want to focus on/specialize in. Unless you've spoken with a career counselor and have a clear path, you'll need to explore different areas to find your interests within the field. Projects can help with this. As you work on them, you'll discover what excites you and guides your future portfolio development.
Create a git repository
Create a top level README.md outlining the sub-folders and what each subfolder's project entails. Link it to sub-projects.
Stay organized over time, add new projects to the repo and track what you've done
Show off that portfolio via github pages (https://docs.github.com/en/pages) or gitlab pages (https://docs.gitlab.com/user/project/pages/)
link to your repo on your resume!
Christopher recommends the following next steps:
Vanam Srilakshmi
5
Answers
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Updated
Vanam’s Answer
Firstly, it is great to know of your dual enrollment with a good exposure to IT, this already places you in the lead. Furthermore, you could focus on taking up Python/ AI courses and explore the area of Robotics. Arm yourself with industry led certifications that push your employment chances closer. Try to look at industry wide problems over a span of time using data analysis (Internet) and see in what way you can contribute to the issue resolution, this will also act as a real life problem solution that you can present to employers. As you work on these solutions, make sure the goal and the Return of Investment on your solution is well documented so that you can hand this over to employers which will up your selection chances.
Best Wishes.
Best Wishes.
Karen Russell
Project/Product Manager | Business Analyst | Technical Writer
2
Answers
Hackensack, New Jersey
Updated
Karen’s Answer
Hello Emeric!
First of all, let me say how proud I am of you that you are thinking this far ahead. I cannot begin to tell you how many recent college graduates I have come aross that do not know this. There are just 2 things to do: 1- Build a portfolio and 2- Get certifications. The easiest path into tech these days is data. Always remember in tech, skill is king. If you can show you can do something, your chances of being hired skyrocket. Data visualization is the easiest way to showcase your skill in an unforgettable way. Learn Power BI or Tableau and maybe Python. Create a dashboard, which is a bunch of pictures that show data and are connected. Think of things like bar charts and pie charts. A project you could do would be to report on your schools students, classes and grades. You would need to create some data in a spreadsheet (Excel) - like a list of students, classes and grades per class. Then you create charts about the data. You can use Excel to create a pie chart of number of girls and boys in the school. You could do a bar chart of grades in a class - how many student in Science have As, Bs , Cs. Find another chart type and map grades across all classes for all students. You can repeat this in Power BI or Tableau as well. Good luck!
First of all, let me say how proud I am of you that you are thinking this far ahead. I cannot begin to tell you how many recent college graduates I have come aross that do not know this. There are just 2 things to do: 1- Build a portfolio and 2- Get certifications. The easiest path into tech these days is data. Always remember in tech, skill is king. If you can show you can do something, your chances of being hired skyrocket. Data visualization is the easiest way to showcase your skill in an unforgettable way. Learn Power BI or Tableau and maybe Python. Create a dashboard, which is a bunch of pictures that show data and are connected. Think of things like bar charts and pie charts. A project you could do would be to report on your schools students, classes and grades. You would need to create some data in a spreadsheet (Excel) - like a list of students, classes and grades per class. Then you create charts about the data. You can use Excel to create a pie chart of number of girls and boys in the school. You could do a bar chart of grades in a class - how many student in Science have As, Bs , Cs. Find another chart type and map grades across all classes for all students. You can repeat this in Power BI or Tableau as well. Good luck!
Puneet Garg
Technology Consultant
21
Answers
Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
Updated
Puneet’s Answer
Enrolling in IT classes is a fantastic move. You're showing initiative and getting a head start. To boost your chances of landing IT jobs, try these practical tips:
1. Get Hands-On Experience
- Look for internships or part-time roles, even if they're short-term, to gain real-world experience.
- Work on personal projects and build a portfolio on GitHub. Try creating a website, automating tasks, or setting up a secure network.
- Offer tech support to local businesses or nonprofits to gain valuable experience.
2. Earn Industry Certifications
- Start with entry-level IT certifications like CompTIA A+ for hardware and troubleshooting, CompTIA Network+ for network basics, or CompTIA Security+ for cybersecurity fundamentals.
- Consider cloud certifications like AWS Cloud Practitioner or Microsoft Azure Fundamentals.
3. Develop Soft Skills
- Focus on improving communication and teamwork, as they are essential in IT.
- Practice explaining technical ideas in simple terms, which is important for future leadership roles.
4. Build Your Online Presence
- Set up a LinkedIn profile to highlight your skills and projects.
- Join IT communities on platforms like Reddit, Discord, or LinkedIn groups.
- Share your learning through blog posts, short videos, or tutorials.
5. Start Networking
- Attend local tech meetups or online events.
- Connect with professionals on LinkedIn and request informational interviews to learn more about the industry.
6. Explore Specializations
- Think about focusing on high-demand areas like cybersecurity, cloud computing, AI and automation, or DevOps. These fields offer great opportunities and pay.
1. Get Hands-On Experience
- Look for internships or part-time roles, even if they're short-term, to gain real-world experience.
- Work on personal projects and build a portfolio on GitHub. Try creating a website, automating tasks, or setting up a secure network.
- Offer tech support to local businesses or nonprofits to gain valuable experience.
2. Earn Industry Certifications
- Start with entry-level IT certifications like CompTIA A+ for hardware and troubleshooting, CompTIA Network+ for network basics, or CompTIA Security+ for cybersecurity fundamentals.
- Consider cloud certifications like AWS Cloud Practitioner or Microsoft Azure Fundamentals.
3. Develop Soft Skills
- Focus on improving communication and teamwork, as they are essential in IT.
- Practice explaining technical ideas in simple terms, which is important for future leadership roles.
4. Build Your Online Presence
- Set up a LinkedIn profile to highlight your skills and projects.
- Join IT communities on platforms like Reddit, Discord, or LinkedIn groups.
- Share your learning through blog posts, short videos, or tutorials.
5. Start Networking
- Attend local tech meetups or online events.
- Connect with professionals on LinkedIn and request informational interviews to learn more about the industry.
6. Explore Specializations
- Think about focusing on high-demand areas like cybersecurity, cloud computing, AI and automation, or DevOps. These fields offer great opportunities and pay.