When I first started learning how to program, I did not have a mentor. I jumped from one language to another, but as time went on I thought maybe I needed to be under the tutelage of someone. I underwent web development training. After my training, I saw the importance of having some guidance from someone in my field. So, I got a mentor. My mentor was one of my training tutors. Now I would like to tell you the difference in my experience before and after I got a mentor and why I think newbies in the tech community should consider seeking one.
Who is a mentor?
A mentor is a person or friend who guides a less experienced person by building trust and modeling positive behavior. An effective mentor understands that his or her role is to be authentic, dependable, engaged, and tuned into the needs of the mentee.
Who is a mentee?
A mentee is someone who has identified a specific personal or professional goal and who believes that the guidance and help of a mentor – and being held accountable to the mentor – can help them achieve their goal.
What is mentorship?
Mentorship is a relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. The mentor may be older or younger than the person being mentored, but they must have a certain area of expertise.
So, back to my story. After seeking help from a mentor,
- I have moved thrice my pace compared to when I did not have a mentor,
- I have built many projects,
- I have participated in a hackathon,
- I got my first internship,
- I joined the developers' community,
- I have made some friends in the developers' community,
- I got to know so many awesome developers.
How you can get a mentorship guidance
Getting a personal mentor is not always easy. Not everyone can get that lucky considering the ratio of people needing mentorship to the people able to mentor them. You can get a mentor by reaching out to people who you admire in your field. Not everyone will be available to take you up but you will never know until you try, but you also have to remember that not everyone will say yes for various reasons. You can also get mentorship guidance by joining the developer's community on social media. There a lot of great developers out there you can learn from and develop yourself.
It is worth noting that: You would not gain consistency by getting a mentor, but a mentor will guide you through the path you are aiming at as much as the mentor can.
Here is a list of some great developers I follow on Twitter: @DThompsonDev @AdoraNwodo @FrancescoCiull4 @catalinmpit @PrasoonPratham @florinpop1705 @techgirl1908 @Didicodes @traversymedia @WellPaidGeek @xylus @TheJackForge @theworstdev
There are many developers out there. You can learn a lot from them.
Resources:
- Google 🙃
- Cover photo from Unsplash
Edited by Kelvin Essien