[eecsninja]

I've been in OP's boat, mentoring people (normal hires, not from boot camps) who couldn't be bothered to put in the effort. It was a colossal time and energy sink.

My attitude today is that you have to put in the initial effort to demonstrate that whatever I invest in training you will be paid off by your future work using that training over and over again. Otherwise it's a wasted investment.

And that attitude is basically that of the old kung fu master: First prove that you are a worthy student, then I will spend time to teach you. Yet in a modern software dev environment, it somehow becomes snobby and elitist?

Edit: I've gotten the same criticism from elsewhere, so the the parent comment (which has since been flagged) is not unique.

[hluska]

Part of life is getting to choose how we behave and what actions we model.

In a situation like this, we have a choice. We can be snobby towards junior developers. Or, we can be kind to juniors and push back at the management structures which brought in less than qualified talent.

When we follow the snobby path, we model that that type of toxicity is acceptable for senior developers. We also teach smart juniors that the best way to avoid our considerable wrath is to fly under the radar and avoid asking questions. How does that help anyone? I can point out several situations over my career where less experienced people have asked questions that exposed a gap in my thought processes. And I can point out more situations where relatively basic questions have turned into major teaching opportunities.

Or, we can follow a different path and ‘gripe up’. We can keep open minds about juniors and model kindness and approachability. And, we can tell management about our concerns and seek actual change.

I would rather model leadership than elitism.