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Ask HN: How do I find a mentor?

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Ask HN: How do I find a mentor?

#1

Post by mipnix »

Greetings-

I was a professional pilot for fifteen years then lost my job 18 months ago. The market is horrible and I decided to pursue a career in programming.

I was accepted to the IIT master's program but I can't afford it and don't know if taking four years to do it part time will help me with my current predicament.

I have completed training in C++ and Java at a community college but that doesn't say much. I don't know what I don't know and want to learn.

I am not a wizard, ninja or a gnome. I am a fairly bright guy trying to figure this out but I need help in learning best practices and how this world I have chosen to enter, operates. How do I gain practical experience? The age old question...

I have joined two user groups but to date they have proved lacking for myriad reasons.

Craigslist didn't seem like the best place to look for a mentor so if anyone has any suggestions I will be in your debt.

Kind regards.

Re: Ask HN: How do I find a mentor?

#3

Post by sahillavingia »

Contact people on YC that are already planted in areas you want to be involved in. Add an email and website to your profile. Tweet. Create a "brand" of yourself. Soon, hopefully people will start knowing who you are.

That's what I'm doing right now, anyways. I'll tell you how it is going a month from now.

Re: Ask HN: How do I find a mentor?

#4

Post by edw519 »

Forget user groups. Forget craigslist. Forget the internet.

1. Do stuff: Pick up projects. Do open source work. Volunteer.

2. Network: Meet people in person.

"Finding a mentor" is a misnomer. You don't "find" a mentor any more than you find a girlfriend or spouse. A relationship with someone who can mentor you is the byproduct of everything else you do. Get out there and get busy. You may be surprised at the people who take an interest in you and your work.

Re: Ask HN: How do I find a mentor?

#5

Post by jacquesm »

If I were you I'd try to use my cross domain knowledge (a pilot!) to position myself in a niche where there are few competitors, I have a hard time imagining there would be a lot of people that can call themselves programmer/pilot (though on HN for sure we have a few). That seems to be your unique selling point, so try to get as much traction there by recycling your old skills for as much as they're worth.

As for mentors, that's easy: Ask! (the specific person). If you're turned down find another one until you have what you're looking for.

A bit of an introduction wouldn't hurt, and those people here that have their email addresses listed do so because they don't mind being contacted, otherwise why else would they do that?

Re: Ask HN: How do I find a mentor?

#6

Post by milkshakes »

jacquesm wrote: post #5

If I were you I'd try to use my cross domain knowledge (a pilot!) to position myself in a niche where there are few competitors, I have a hard time imagining there would be a lot of people that can call themselves programmer/pilot (though on HN for sure we have a few). That seems to be your unique selling point, so try to get as much traction there by recycling your old skills for as much as they're worth. As for men…

Not just the domain knowledge, the access you have to your target market. 15 years is a long time to get to know people. Customer development will be a breeze, you could literally shoot the shit with your peers, and take notes afterward. You'll also have a head start when you start marketing too, because you can start by telling everyone you know in the industry.

Re: Ask HN: How do I find a mentor?

#7

Post by phugoid »

edw519 wrote: post #4

Forget user groups. Forget craigslist. Forget the internet. 1. Do stuff: Pick up projects. Do open source work. Volunteer. 2. Network: Meet people in person. "Finding a mentor" is a misnomer. You don't "find" a mentor any more than you find a girlfriend or spouse. A relationship with someone who can mentor you is the byproduct of everything else you do. Get out there and get busy. You may be surprised at the people w…

I sincerely wish you would elaborate on that.

How do you pick up projects? Where would you find entry-level projects? Do you mean open source project (in which case there have been several posts on HN and reddit about getting started).

Maybe open source work is really the scenic route to where he wants to get - after all he's looking for paid work.

And he seems to making an effort to meet people in person (having joined two user groups). What else / where else can one hook up with other software people (if you say forget the internet)?

Re: Ask HN: How do I find a mentor?

#8

Post by mailarchis »

edw519 wrote: post #4

Forget user groups. Forget craigslist. Forget the internet. 1. Do stuff: Pick up projects. Do open source work. Volunteer. 2. Network: Meet people in person. "Finding a mentor" is a misnomer. You don't "find" a mentor any more than you find a girlfriend or spouse. A relationship with someone who can mentor you is the byproduct of everything else you do. Get out there and get busy. You may be surprised at the people w…

" A relationship with someone who can mentor you is the byproduct of everything else you do. " - That is very true. Maybe you should spend a week skimming through different languages, pick the one you find the easiest. Spend the next two three weeks going through a beginner's book for the language and coding some simple programs. Next plan a project, it can be a simple app and code it in the language. And as you are coding, you will keep encountering problems which might need some research, you will refer books, blog posts, online tutorials etc. and will keep on learning.

As you work on the project, you will find mentors on the way, some will guide you on the technical stuffs, others might go beyond that. All the best.

Re: Ask HN: How do I find a mentor?

#10

Post by grandalf »

phugoid wrote: post #7
edw519 wrote: post #4

Forget user groups. Forget craigslist. Forget the internet. 1. Do stuff: Pick up projects. Do open source work. Volunteer. 2. Network: Meet people in person. "Finding a mentor" is a misnomer. You don't "find" a mentor any more than you find a girlfriend or spouse. A relationship with someone who can mentor you is the byproduct of everything else you do. Get out there and get busy. You may be surprised at the people w…

I sincerely wish you would elaborate on that. How do you pick up projects? Where would you find entry-level projects? Do you mean open source project (in which case there have been several posts on HN and reddit about getting started). Maybe open source work is really the scenic route to where he wants to get - after all he's looking for paid work. And he seems to making an effort to meet people in person (having joi…

My take on a reply to this is:

- Find a project you want to do. Maybe it's a website that does something simple, maybe it's an iphone app.

- Scrape together a first approach at building it.

- Build it again.

- Learn/read along the way

- Build it again.

After a few iterations you'll start to get the hang of it.

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