Tech | January 19, 2009 | 20 comments

Boy, 8, becomes youngest IT professional

source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/macedonia/4275150/Boy-8-becomes-youngest-IT...

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Gregorous
An eight-year-old boy has become the world's youngest IT professional after passing an exam with Microsoft.

Marko Calasan, from Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, has become the world's youngest certified computer system administrator.

"I'd like to be a computer scientist when I grow up and create a new operational system," he said.

Marko, whose favourite subject at school is mathematics, learnt to read and write at the age of two, which was when his interest in computers began.

The news of his achievement has turned him into a celebrity in Macedonia.

His mother Radica, 37, said that her son displayed "exceptional learning abilities at a very early age" and that she and her husband, who run a computer school, call on Marko to help solve technical problems when they crop up.

"He is obviously extraordinary gifted, but children above the age of six could learn much more about computers than generally assumed," she said.

Marko is also fascinated by physics and astronomy and struggled to sleep the night before the launch of the Big Bang experiment at the underground facility of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research in Switzerland.

Marko said: "The media said it could cause the end of the world, but there was never any danger of that."
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20 comments // Boy, 8, becomes youngest IT professional

  • iamfree
    • 0
      iamfree  

    • this is remarkable and aslong as he continues to be happy he should do and dream anything he desires...i don't think he will be lacking in the area of social behavior...think about it...he's so young so when he gets older all of this computer stuff will be 2nd nature so he can focus his time on the ladies as he charms them with his intelligence...hi hataz

    • 3 years ago
  • thewarnerla
  • Mobius2012
  • blacksix
  • arcticspirit
    • 0
      arcticspirit  

    • Amazing. I hope his parents keep him positive and don't let anyone take advantage.

      Or he might be the next great hacker.. or worse.. unless he's working for our military and doing cyber warfare... On OUR SIDE
      Anyhows.

      Still I hope his family protects him and keeps him so he can be a kid and not grow up too fast. Not be used.. not be jaded..

    • 3 years ago
  • purplefox
    • 0
      purplefox  

    • Look out Bill Gates and Steve Jobs! Computing is showing itself to be so much like a language as kids pick it up more and more easily, though this kid is pretty damn impressive, I mean, being able to use computers is one thing, but understanding enough of the technicalities to pass a Microsoft exam is quite another.

    • 3 years ago
  • numinant
    • 0
      numinant  
    • purplefox:

      that's a good point. it could also spell doom for older generations that haven't had the benefit of being acquainted with computer language skills at such a young age. we tend to think the gap is severe now with grandmothers being unable to operate The Google, but just wait until technical knowledge is absolutely essential to a decent livelihood.

      nationalistic americans often claim that everyone should learn to speak 'american' as it's the dominant language on the planet... but its days may be numbered...

    • 3 years ago
  • mqz4
    • 0
      mqz4  

    • microsoft certified and wants to create a new operating system.. too young to be sick of it lad!! thousands of windows crashes to go for you!!

    • 3 years ago
  • Mobius2012
  • CalgarC
  • Truthaddict
    • 0
      Truthaddict  

    • What a great story, this kid is already talking in full sentence structures and obviously stating his opinions, which is awesome for the age, you got to hand it to his parents for enabling him and paying enough attention to him to know his abilities were beyond that of a normal child. I have no children but it makes me wonder if talking to your children in what we think are cute sounds for them to hear actually slow there progress... maybe reading them textbooks or doing math equations in front of them could actually jumpstart there brains... the human mind is such an incredible thing.

    • 3 years ago
  • numinant
  • krazykizza
    • 0
      krazykizza  

    • You'd pwn my geeky was once friend any day! Good Luck getting to where you're going Marco, I see him being C.E.O. of Apple or developing his dreams of a new OS!

    • 3 years ago
  • barnabasnagy
  • Kepano
  • Beta_Boy
    • 0
      Beta_Boy  
    • Image

    • That is freakish, that exam is not easy at all.

      I guess it is a generational shift, kids and children have a capacity for learning that far exceeds adults and computers are just another area for them to make sense of.

    • 3 years ago
  • cabinettags
  • ejasun
    • 0
      ejasun  
    • Image

    • Macedonian Prodigy Is Youngest IT Expert
      http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/15957/

      The certificate means that, in theory, Marko is eligible to get a job maintaining complex office computer networks, even though he has not completed the third grade as yet. .

      "The Microsoft officials gave me computer games and DVDs with cartoons when I passed the exams because I am a child. That was nice, but I'm not really interested in those things," Times Online quoted young Marko as saying.

      "I'd like to be a computer scientist when I grow up and create a new operational system," added the little boy.

      Marko's parents, who are IT experts and run a computer school for children, have revealed that he had learnt to read and write at the tender age of 2, and started working on computers immediately thereafter.

    • 3 years ago
  • abbym0308
  • T_Rose
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