[huanwin]

> new hires are expected to learn from overworked and not particularly interactive senior-level folks, while everyone gets their noses pushed into a grindstone by project managers.

n=1, this is my experience too.

The senior embedded engineer here is reputed by our technical management and technical clients to be a pleasure to work with.

He is, whether as a client or as a junior engineer! And while he's willing to interact, people are reluctant to speak to him because he's in (too) high demand. So we grind our projects on our own and only reach out if we can justify interrupting his work.

I think this is a great way to develop some generalist breadth, but not a great way to develop specialist expertise, like an 'apprenticeship' might.

Also, on a less technical level, not having the 'apprenticeship' means people can more easily move around to roles/circumstances that may fit them better.

[mtberatwork]

> people are reluctant to speak to him because he's in (too) high demand. So we grind our projects on our own and only reach out if we can justify interrupting his work.

Sounds like your company needs to hire and retain more senior engineers. What happens if this person ever decides to leave the company?