How to start early?

[Chaotic]

Hello there, I have been thinking about getting a career in computers, I want to do penetration testing, but I do not know where to start. There are articles saying to start networking, others say to start to learn C, and some arguing that python is best for beginners. Then there are also articles saying to learn to use Kali Linux and start hacking. My only argument to starting to hack on linux is that I will most likely not know what I am doing. What is it that you started doing while starting your computer career?

[Badfilemagic]

I got going down this path when I was about 13 -- learning Unix with FreeBSD 2.2.8, Linux from Red Hat 4.1. C, Perl, all that good stuff. Reading Phrack Magazine, 2600, etc. There are a lot more resources these days, and most of them are above board, too.

Since you're young and just dipping your toes in, my advice is to acquire as much baseline knowledge and skills as possible. If you want to get into penetration testing/ethical hacking, you need to have a sound understanding of systems, networks, etc. You can't cheat at computers (hack) until you understand computers. 

A good source to start learning things for free would be https://www.cybrary.it.  There's free course material, micro certifications, labs, etc. Don't jump right into pen testing stuff. Learn Linux, learn Windows honestly, and learn networking and protocols well.

That would be my advice.