One hears about 12 year old geniuses getting Degrees in college and becoming doctors, but how is this possible. Aren’t there laws about hiring kids that young? How can they be a doctor? Are they not paid for their work, thus making it not technically a job? How does it work?
In the U.S., child labor laws vary from state to state. In most states a 15 or 16 year old can work just as much as an adult as long as their parents sign off on it. Younger than that there are frequently hour restrictions. If you wanted to hire someone from that age group you would presumably pay them part time for the limited hours they could work. But note that as far as the professions go, children, even the very smart, aren’t going to be emotionally mature enough to handle the work required so they wouldn’t get hired even were they to have the educational qualifications. The point is moot anyway, as children in the U.S. just don’t go through school that quickly anymore; even the youngest college graduates are typically 19 or 20.
–Cliffy
Well, this quote from http://www.hindunet.org/alt_hindu/1995_May_2/msg00071.html may answer your question somewhat:
So apparently at least in New York, you legally must be 21 to practice medicine, but they waived it for this guy. Also, the story claims that he is the world’s youngest doctor, so presumably stories of 12-year-olds who graduate from medical school are urban legends.
Does one hear about this from sources other than a certain well-known sitcom? While I have heard of children going to college at a very young age, I am unaware of any real-life 12 year old doctors. Given how long it takes to complete med school and residency, I would think that even the most brilliant of child geniuses would be into their teens before they would be qualified to practice medicine. Of course, I welcome contradiction from anyone who knows of real child doctors.
I would assume that a kid who graduated from college is still protected under and/or restricted by child labor laws. AFAIK no exceptions have been written in for exceptionally bright kids.
The US Fair Labor Act applies to kids under the age of 16. They are restricted from jobs deemed dangerous by the Department of Labor and they are restricted in the hours worked inasmuch as those hours might affect the health and the schooling of the child. Given that our little genius has already graduated I assume he or she would be able to bypass the part about how it affects their education (they’ve already got one).
Beyond that I think other laws would apply. You still need to be 16-18 to get a driver’s license so I don’t think our hypothetical kid could have a job operating a vehicle. I’m sure there are other such things you could think of as well (maybe strength requirements for a physically demanding job and so on).
So there’s a law that, presumably, applies to less than 10 cases a year (probably much, much fewer), and they waive it on at least 10% of the cases, and, I’d be willing to wager, 100% of them? What’s the point of having the law in the first place?
I apologize for using the extreme, as I was just trying to illustrate my point. What made me think of the question was the fact that a child who goes to my college, who can’t be more then 12, works in the Mathematics Computer lab, and I was curious as to wether or not he would be paid for such, work, or even if it was echnically legal for him to work there. That thought led me to the thought of children who go through, and graduate from college at an unusually young age. This is, of course, assuming that anyone hires them, as was mentionned by Cliffy
Er…out of curiosity, where did you get those numbers? (10 cases per year, between 10 and 100% waived)
Did you actually get them from a real source, or did you just make them up? Not flaming, just wondering.
As to why a law like that might be in existence, I have no idea. Maybe it’s one of those holdovers from the 19th century that nobody has bothered to take off the books. But that’s just a totally WAG.
[aside]
I was at a mall in Joplin, MO, one day and I stopped by a pretzel stand at the food court. A boy of about 12 approached me and asked for my order. I gave him an astonished look and said, “Do they not have child labor laws in Missouri???” Without missing a beat, the boy replied, “Not if your parents own the place.” 
[/aside]
I totally made them up. But they sure sound good, don’t they?
Professional education became much more standardized in the post-WWII era. Before that you could join most professions after an apprenticeship. I’d bet MsWhatsit is on the ball, except that it was probably relevant more recently than she posits. Also, it’s good to keep around just in case there is a 12-year-old genius who’s graduated medical school. Referring to my earlier post above, I’d sure as hell want someone evaluating his emotional maturity (and if he’s a surgeon, his dexterity!) as well as his ability to pass his classes.
–Cliffy
None of the very young kids at college that I know of (Justin Chapman, Michael Kearney and several whose parents keep them out of the media) are studying medicine as their first degree. Profoundly gifted kids like them tend to be mathematical prodigies and they tend to begin degrees which are maths based.
The usual pattern is that the kids remain in education until they are in their teens. I’m trying to think of any who didn’t just keep on doing degrees but who tried to move to the workforce but none come to mind. Michael Kearney was in college at 6 but he was still doing his MA in chemistry at 14.
A lot of these kids are doing their college part time. They finish high school maths earlier than their chronological peers but they might still be doing age level English or other subjects.
I ate at an italian resturant the other day…a little home owed place. When I got up to the counter, there was a girl who couldnt have been more than 6 or so…Really. She was sitting on a stack of phone books on a stool. She ran my credit card, and handed my my card and the reciept. She even asked if every thing was ok, and thanked me. Damn it was cute.
I remember when I worked at a pizza place and the boss’s little son would love to run the registar. As an odd coincident, we always got the best tips on those nights. Go figure