--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
<snip>
> There is no need to look for a mentor. Everything is available online,
<snip>
> "Use the source Sacha, Use the source"
>
I disagree. A mentor does not have to be a 'real' teacher -- just someone more
experienced
that you could go to ask for advice or help. In my own experience, I didn't have a
mentor and although I learned a lot of programming on my own , I often wish I had one,
especially during the early years of my career -- I think it would have helped me a
lot...
In the US, they are finding that mentoring is very valuable in many areas, such
as management, enterpreneurship, even programming -- and is helpful not just to the
protege, but has benefits to the mentor as well.
For the mentor, sharing your knowledge also deepens your understanding about the
subject
-- I've found this to be true when I started training people about the systems
we developed. Also, the "philanthropic" contribution (which makes you feel good
inside)
of helping out someone improve themselves is a benefit you should not underestimate...
I would encourage the more experienced people here in the group to help out and mentor
our
younger peers -- even just sharing our "war stories" can be invaluable in giving them
insights
on how software development is really done in the real world and help them prepare
better.
For example, I for one, when I started working, was not prepared to realize how
important "office politics" can be in determining the success or failure of software
projects -- I had naively thought that technical merit was all that mattered...
<snip>
> On Fri, 20 Oct 2000, Sacha Chua wrote:
>
> > I want to make a difference not only in the way I'm learning but also in the
> > way other people are learning. I want to become one of the best programmers
> > in the world. =) But I can't train myself well enough - I still don't have
> > the experience and perspective that other people do. I find it hard enough
> > to find people who are as into computers as I am - I always want to get to
> > know other people so that we could learn from each other. It would be really
> > great if I could find a mentor, someone who's done the same thing and who
> > can guide me. That's why I constantly try to seek out better programmers,
> > people who really love what they're doing.
> >
> > Can anyone help me?
> >
Sure, I'd love to help you out...
You already have some very good things going for you , and if you'd like I can give
some more suggestions :
1. You're already in a CS program -- stick by it and finish it, and when you're
done, try to go on to an MCS and a PhD -- a little more knowledge never hurt
anyone :^)
We in the Philippines desperately need more CS PhDs and researchers...
2. Even while you are in CS curriculum, try not to limit yourself to just
doing the coursework -- try to go beyond them and learn deeper, especially
on things that interest you.
I know this is hard given that your coursework is probably heavy enough as
it is... but if you focus on stuff that is interesting to you, learning
that stuff will be easy, because you won't think of it as "work"...
3. Try to learn as many computer languages as you can -- my view is that
computer languages are like human languages in that they express ideas -- yeah,
sure you can say "hello" in all of them, but try explaining the Whitney Houston
joke of her singing "Inday" in English and you will see that some ideas are better
expressed in some languages than others.
FORTH, for example, is a good language to twist your brains inside and out,
especially
if all you know is C, C++ or Java... It sure twisted mine ;^) OTOH, if you want to
relax, you can learn Python...its easy to learn and easy to absorb...
Also, learning languages is a skill -- one that you can hone -- and in this rapidly
changing world of software development, a very necessary skill that will help you
make sure that your skills are never obsolescent...
4. Try looking at the burgeoning world of Open Source projects out there... you don't
have to
start one... find something that interests you and try helping out... you can start
small and just go with the flow... aside from the obvious training, if anything,
you'll
probably meet some nice people out there and maybe get to know some of its more
awesome
programmers...
You'll get other benefits as well, like peer recognition of your programming
abilities
and that warm and fuzzy glow you get when someone thanks you for building something
really useful or something really cool... I know this from personal experience..
5. Lastly, if you are studying Design Patterns and are really interested in studying
them, I'd
love to discuss them with you... I'm currently studying them as well and trying to
apply
them in my current project...we probably need to discuss this offline from the list
(its
probably too offtopic to be a regular discussion here)
In fact, if we get enough people interested in Design Patterns, maybe we can even
start
a DPSG -- a design patterns study group... There have already been other groups in
the US
that have started doing this -- one guy even has some material prepared to jump
start these
study groups and made it available on the Internet...
Also, I got several books on Design Patterns -- aside from the DP book by the GoF,
I
have the PloP books 1-3 which present the papers discussed during their annual
pattern
languages conferences as well as the Pattern Hatchings book by Vlissides which
discusses variations of the DP book... I also have this Refactorings book by Martin
Fowler --
if you can find this in the Philippines, try to get it -- its Java specific but its
really concrete and you can use it immediately in your "real-world" programming
projects.
Butch Landingin
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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