Kairan Quazi, 14, recently posted on LinkedIn that he had been hired as a Software Engineer at Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The teen’s LinkedIn post gained a lot of attention after went viral. Quazi’s age was unnecessary to Musk’s SpaceX, but LinkedIn believes he is too young to be looking for work there. Quazi revealed that his LinkedIn account has been restricted due to his age in an Instagram post.
Elon Musk’s new recruit’s LinkedIn account blocked
Quazi posted on Instagram that his LinkedIn account had been blocked because he hadn’t reached the age of 16 yet. Quazi does not comply with LinkedIn’s requirement that users be above 16 to search for jobs on the platform.
His post reads, “LinkedIn just sent me this notice that they are deleting my account because I’m not 16. This is the illogical, primitive nonsense that I face constantly. 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. Can people please share this screenshot on their LinkedIn for me and ask people to connect with me on Instagram?”
SpaceX Hires Kairan Quazi As Software Engineer
Quazi is set to graduate from Santa Clara University this month, where he studied computer science and engineering. He and his family are planning on moving to Redmond, Washington to start his new job at SpaceX, The Times reported. He had called SpaceX ‘one of the rare companies that did not use his age as an arbitrary and outdated proxy for maturity and ability’.
Quazi’s LinkedIn post read, “I guess this will be my LinkedIn “I’m excited to announce…” post! I am graduating from Santa Clara University’s School of Engineering where I learned that “engineering with a mission” is not a gimmicky tagline. Where a culture of rigor, collaboration, accountability, and impact deeply resonated with the needs of a radically accelerated learner.”
Kairan recently shared his achievement on his LinkedIn page stating, “Next stop: SpaceX! 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 One of the rare companies that did not use my age as an arbitrary and outdated proxy for maturity and ability.”
Quazi wrote further in his LinkedIn post, “My early access to transformational leadership began as a 9-year-old. First, when the administrators of a local community college Las Positas College enrolled a third-grade graduate with no prior acceleration into a full-time mathematics A.S. degree program.”
He continued by describing how his internship at Intel Labs “changed his career trajectory.”
Kairan Quazi’s story highlights the limitations imposed by age-based restrictions, as well as the importance of recognizing and nurturing talent regardless of age. His success serves as an inspiration for others and underscores the need for progressive policies that focus on an individual’s qualifications and abilities rather than arbitrary age thresholds.
