Kairan Quazi, a 14-year-old genius, is now eligible to work for tech mogul Elon Musk after graduating eight years ahead of teens his age. But there is one thing that he’s not eligible to have and that is a LinkedIn account.
Quazi, in an Instagram post, claims that the Microsoft-owned networking platform should grant him an age eligibility exception in their minimum age rules. He shared a screenshot of LinkedIn’s statement informing him that he is restricted from creating an account due to his age.
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“This is the illogical, primitive nonsense that I face constantly,” he said. “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?”
His tenure as a software engineer at SpaceX’s Starlink team will start once he moves along with his mom to Washington state.
Despite being a teenage prodigy able to work full-time at a prestigious space exploration company, he is still not allowed to have his own LinkedIn account.
“We’re excited by your enthusiasm, energy, and focus. We can’t wait to see what you do in the world,” the message read, but it went on to point out that the minimum age requirement for LinkedIn account holders was 16.
“Because you currently do not meet the age eligibility criteria to join, we have restricted your account,” the message continued. “You are welcome back on the platform once you turn 16 or older.”
The spokesperson for LinkedIn confirmed to Fortune that the his account was restricted because he did not meet the minimum age requirement of 16 to have one.
“We appreciate his enthusiasm to join LinkedIn and applaud his incredible success, however, we have an age limit in place of 16 years of age, and that extends to all members,” the spokesperson said.
When Quazi announced to the platform his upcoming full-time gig, he then labeled SpaceX as “one of the rare companies that did not use my age as an arbitrary and outdated proxy for maturity and ability.”
Quazi recently graduated from Santa Clara University’s Class of ’23. He is also recognized as the university’s youngest graduate in their 172-year history.
Before applying for SpaceX, he faced 95 rejections and 3 full-time job offers despite his intellectual capabilities. His academic advisor told The Mercury News that he struggled with being taken seriously because of his age.
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