I started my journey into tech late 2020

And as you probably know the world of tech is massive! There are so many avenues, disciplines, areas of interest, and technologies. Where does one even begin to break these different things down into smaller digestible pieces? Well, for me attending a bootcamp was the beginning of this process. But there are so many resources out there that can help with this initial step, online courses, college courses, books, etc.

Teachers are busy!

Its true. I can't imagine having over a hundred people "under your wing". The amount of questions you'd probably receive would/could be overwhelming. My teachers have been very good about answering my questions, but sometimes it can take a minute to get a response. After all, they are busy, so who could blame them? They do their absolute best and that's all you can really ask for.

Enter Mentor

In my process of networking with other developers via Twitter, Twitch, Discord, Slack, & YouTube I was randomly assigned an AWESOME mentor in a Slack group I had joined. I wasn't expecting this at all, but was very gracious to have the resource. I took the time to research what these types of relationships should be like, this helped a lot in knowing what types of things to expect. I was able to find great questions to ask about development in general, but I also started asking other types of questions just to get to know my mentor on a more personal level.

How it has helped me

We have a structured schedule for meeting each week. I tend to have an idea of concepts I have further questions about. Sometimes these questions are not fully related to the curriculum of the bootcamp I attend. We go over curriculum I am studying, mock interview questions, resumes, life and my personal favorite: personal project questions. The questions relating to my personal projects have been extremely helpful in gaining further insight; leveling up my leveling up in a sense.

How do I get a mentor?

From what I gather there are many ways one gets a mentor, many companies provide mentorship programs after you get hired. There are tons of communities that can help with this before you are a employed developer too. Google is your friend, networking was my key. Another resource I know of is Code Connector Just do some digging around!

Summary

A good mentors success lies in your success! That being said having someone to lean into for help in this massive world of technology is one of the best resources out there. There are also many types of mentors that you might need to lean into at different times on your journey. See: The five mentors every software developer needs & how to find them. In short, there are tons of ways to grow as a developer and in my opinion this is ONE of the best resources one could have.