Ask HN: Did you have a mentor? Have you ever mentored someone?

[hhenn]

I'm 23 and just joined the software industry. I feel like mentorship is something that's missing from my life, and it would benefit me both as a programmer and person in general if I could have a mentor-student relationship with someone experienced that I respected.

I wanted to know:

- Did you have a mentor at any point in your life (doesn't have to be programming related)?

- Do you feel like it was central to where you are now?

- How did it happen, or how did you meet them? Did you approach them and ask them to mentor you, or did it happen more by accident?

- If you've ever mentored someone, do you think it was worth your time? How would you feel if someone you didn't know very well approached you about this?

Thanks for reading.

[AdrianRossouw]

So i've been doing a lot of mentoring, especially recently.

A large part of it was due to my involvement in open source for over a decade, because being an ambassador for a project involves helping new people get started.

I do it partly because I love the way people's eyes light up when something finally clicks, and they see the possibilities. It don't even have to be physically there to enjoy that.

The last while it's become obvious that I need to expand how many people I am helping. So i've started writing things down in my blog, to guide people through what "Full Stack" development entails.

I just posted my second post in the series here:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7657585

Feel free to ping me, although I don't really do the 1-to-1 thing. I sometimes pass my drafts through multiple sets of eyes to refine the message I need to spread.

You can find my contact details on my online portfolio.

[edoceo]

I've had a few good mentors, invaluable. The first showed me how "easy" code was (in FoxPro). Since then I've always tried to give back. I take interns from our local university and host an entrepreneur meetup. Mentorship and apprenticeship are super valuable. I've got no school training either, so its especially important to me. I've been trying to build a like community but Mentors are too busy and entry level tech workers need almost too much time to find themselves.

[dulse]

I currently have a mentor that's been instrumental in my development. I feel incredibly lucky to have them in my professional life, and think it's invaluable. I wouldn't be where I am without their help.

I met them at work on a project (I was in a different part of the company at the time). They were the more senior person running the project, and saw my interest and started helping me toward my goals. It was a pretty organic process.

I wish there was a more organized process to get a mentor, especially in areas outside of your current job. It's difficult to meet people in general, and the kind of person that is open to mentor is a small, special group.

I've never mentored anyone but given my experience I look forward to doing it one day very much.

[wpietri]

I have mentored people, some casually and a couple for long periods. It can be great.

I would say that you shouldn't approach people and ask them to be a mentor. If you did that with me, I'd definitely be put off; it would seem like a lot to ask from a stranger, and since you didn't know me it would be clear that asking was all about you.

However, I think it's perfectly fine to ask for modest amounts of advice. I get that a fair bit, and I try to accommodate people whenever I can. If you do that and it seems to be pleasant and beneficial to both of you, I think it's reasonable to ask for more advice. Keep that up and a mentor relationship might develop very naturally.

[hhenn]

Good point. I think finding a mentor will need to happen organically (if it does at all). I'm glad that there are even a few people right here who actively mentor other people and find it meaningful - I think I would, too (which means I'll be being selfish again on the opposite side of it...)

[krmmalik]

I'm not a coder by profession. I was really tired of working with developers that tried pulling wool over my eyes.

I found a mentor on reddit that mentored me via email. It only lasted a couple of weeks because as much as he wanted to help he realised he just didn't have the time. That said, the little bit of time help that i did get from him was amazing. It really propelled my learning by an order of magnitude.

I work with developers quite often and it has since given me a lot of confidence.

On a sidenote, I mentor start-ups and they also they've found the mentoring very useful.

[mattcaldwell]

Where are you located?