Re:Ask HN: How did you find a mentor?
by muzani on Saturday May 15, 2021 @11:42PM
(#27171018)
You have to clearly define "next level". Is this over a time span of 5 years or one month?
My next level is to be able to write Android unit tests for networks by Monday; it's not something Stack Overflow solves.
It should be beyond your best abilities now. How do you do something beyond your best ability? By finding someone else who has done it before. If you want to build a billion dollar SaaS in 5 years, look for someone who has done it or attempted it. If there are books on the topic, read all the books. It's bad manners if you haven't done your homework.
Most of the time, you should expect to be one level below your mentor. If you want to make a billion dollar company, you should already be able to make a hundred-million dollar company. Someone a level below the mentor is already quite rare, and many mentors appreciate having someone around to bounce thoughts off without having to dumb down their words to explain a concept.
Thus concludes today's mentoring session on how to find a mentor.
My next level is to be able to write Android unit tests for networks by Monday; it's not something Stack Overflow solves.
It should be beyond your best abilities now. How do you do something beyond your best ability? By finding someone else who has done it before. If you want to build a billion dollar SaaS in 5 years, look for someone who has done it or attempted it. If there are books on the topic, read all the books. It's bad manners if you haven't done your homework.
Most of the time, you should expect to be one level below your mentor. If you want to make a billion dollar company, you should already be able to make a hundred-million dollar company. Someone a level below the mentor is already quite rare, and many mentors appreciate having someone around to bounce thoughts off without having to dumb down their words to explain a concept.
Thus concludes today's mentoring session on how to find a mentor.