Ask HN: Do coding coaches exist?

#1

Post by asher_ » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 3:28 PM UTC

When I used to play online poker, I had weekly coaching sessions over Skype with a pro who reviewed my play, or talked me through particularly difficult hands, and gave me things to work on. It was incredibly helpful.

I am wondering if any similar thing exists for programmers. I would love to have guidance to improve my programming by someone that is better at it than I am, and be able to get opinions and guidance on my thinking and decisions about particularly complex problems.

I do read a lot, and I have discussions with other programmers, but what I am looking for is something more in depth. I would like a situation where I can get regular, specific feedback.

I haven't heard of such a thing before, and would love to know if there are people out there doing this, or that would be interested in doing this.

Re: Ask HN: Do coding coaches exist?

#2

Post by nlh » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 3:45 PM UTC

This is a great idea.

I'm not sure if others work the same way, but I know my coding-brain is much more receptive to learning and improvement when the feedback is on code that I've already (tried to have) thought through.

I could read 100 books on Advanced Ruby Theories and "learn" a lot, but take a block of code I've already written and tell me how I could make it better and my synapses will go wild :)

Re: Ask HN: Do coding coaches exist?

#3

Post by skrebbel » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 3:45 PM UTC

My employer does this in-house, by pairing a programmer up with a more experienced programmer or architect in roughly the same field, and having them review the programmer's work on a regular basis. I bet there's many firms with a system somewhat like this.

That said, if your team does peer code reviews, you get a lot of that coaching that you ask for, directly from your team members.

In fact, if your workplace doesn't have any way by which you can regularly collect feedback on your work, I'd be very worried. If nobody cares about the quality you produce, chances are small they care much about what you do at all. In any sufficiently important team, code reviews are a must in order to guarantee a sufficient level of quality.

Re: Ask HN: Do coding coaches exist?

#4

Post by mgkimsal » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 3:49 PM UTC

I've been approached by 2 people to mentor them in coding, and neither worked very well, but it was primarily my fault. In one case, we just had a lot of communication problems for a few weeks (probably mostly my fault) but expectations weren't set on both sides early on (regular times to meet, goals, etc). In the other case, we ended up discussing things a bit more and decided that's not what he was really after.

That said, feel free to reach out to me if you'd like to discuss it, and perhaps we might be a fit (or I might know someone who is for your needs).

http://phpmentoring.org/ is a site set up to help people match up with each other, but I've no idea what sort of success any of them have had.

Re: Ask HN: Do coding coaches exist?

#5

Post by WayneDB » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 3:53 PM UTC

I would like for a site to exist where I can go and find an expert on whatever I need and consult with them over whatever communications method they prefer (Skype, Google Hangout, Phone, etc). The experts would work for tips/donations, an hourly/15 minute fee, wishlist items, credits, bitcoins, barter, etc.

If anyone is interested, I have a more detailed roadmap for this idea, a couple of domain names that would work as well as technical and financial resources at my disposal. One of the domain names is ExpertHour.com, which I think is decent enough. I don't necessarily want to co-found this with you, but I might want to commission it or invest what I have for a very small return. Email me if you want to know more.

Re: Ask HN: Do coding coaches exist?

#6

Post by ibgeek » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 3:54 PM UTC

There's a company called Software Carpentry ( http://software-carpentry.org/ ) that runs workshops for scientists but they might do the same for other programmers or have an idea of who might.

Re: Ask HN: Do coding coaches exist?

#7

Post by ComputerGuru » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 4:00 PM UTC

Internships. Find a great company w/ top-notch developers who aren't too stuck up or arrogant to give proper advice.

Re: Ask HN: Do coding coaches exist?

#8

Post by mgkimsal » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 4:02 PM UTC

WayneDB wrote: post #5

I would like for a site to exist where I can go and find an expert on whatever I need and consult with them over whatever communications method they prefer (Skype, Google Hangout, Phone, etc). The experts would work for tips/donations, an hourly/15 minute fee, wishlist items, credits, bitcoins, barter, etc. If anyone is interested, I have a more detailed roadmap for this idea, a couple of domain names that would work…

that was minutebox.com, but they seem to be acrossio.com, focusing on internal/enterprise (can't figure it out from the site too much).

Re: Ask HN: Do coding coaches exist?

#9

Post by thibaut_barrere » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 4:09 PM UTC

I can tell you it exists since I'm doing exactly what you describe: providing short sessions over Skype/shared-screens, on various topics including pure coding, freelancing, or ETL.

I only do that on a lightweight volume (and I am paid for that since this year).

I believe Avdi Grimm does something similar too.

This is something I really enjoy doing, and I'm surprised that it's not more widespread.

Re: Ask HN: Do coding coaches exist?

#10

Post by Kliment » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 4:09 PM UTC

Depending on your level, I might be interested in doing that for you. Contact me at kliment [at] 0xfb.com if interested.