Ask HN: What is your experience with mentorship?

4 points by paveldolezal 12 years ago | 4 comments
I am thinking about finding a mentor to push my programming skills to another level. What is your experience with mentorship (in- or outside the context of programming)? Any tips how to find a solid mentor and get the most out of him? Thanks.
  • yareally 12 years ago
    If you're attending a university or still in high school, perhaps ask one of your teachers to recommend someone that might be willing. Either that or start attending some of the extracurricular clubs at your school.

    If not in school, then find one of the local programming/hacker clubs around your community and hang out there. After getting to know some of the members, you might be able to work something out like trading some beers/coffees for their time. It's hard to give specifics to how to find a mentor, but patience and an understanding of how to relate concepts to someone learning are the key for anyone teaching.

    I found from mentoring friends a few years younger than me in school that it not only improved their own programming skills, but mine as well. Mainly because it makes you rethink how you interpret concepts so you can relate them to someone who doesn't understand them as well yet (which is also a useful skill when talking to clients or bosses that aren't developers). Sometimes you also learn something new (as no university covers 100% exactly the same material, though most are generally similar). I have a saying that if one cannot explain a concept to someone who is genuinely interested with sufficient time, then one does not really know the topic as well as they think.

    • dfritsch 12 years ago
      I would second a lot of what is said in here and add that I think being a part of a network of similar minded people (i.e. local programming/hacker club) can be just as beneficial as having one official mentor. It may not get you from point A to point B as quickly, but if you aren't really sure where you want to go at this moment, being part of a club can be just as useful as a mentor.
      • paveldolezal 12 years ago
        Thank you. I appreciate that.
      • bjourne 12 years ago
        Does the mentor get paid?