How a tech mentor changed my life
It was during the COVID pandemic. I was writing code for 7–9 hours every day. This was in conjunction with studying physics and math just because I could. I was also practicing the violin. I later burnt out because my motivation rested greatly on impostor syndrome. But some good came out of the process.
I met my first tech mentor!
Meeting him was even more amazing for me. This was because he was an established professional in the tech world. He is a venture capitalist who has invested in companies like Twillio, Polygon, and Bolt. He was also very open to helping me grow a lot.
I won’t be revealing details about him so as to protect his identity.
Let’s just call him Mr. Mentor.
So how did I even meet him?
How did I meet Mr. Mentor?
During my impostor syndrome-inspired coding frenzy, I began to watch more tech YouTubers. TheNewBoston (Bucky Roberts) who came back during the COVID season after a long hiatus. I was also watching Clement Mihailesciu, Sentdex (Harrison Kingsley), Tech with Tim, etc.
I also started watching high school seniors in the U.S.
I can remember my marvel at their applications to great schools that seemed out of my reach. Schools like MIT, Stanford, Duke, etc. I was older than some of these guys. Some of them had built companies, successful apps, etc.
I was seeing that there was more possible within the tech world than my tiny knowledge of it. That’s when I decided to start applying for internships abroad. Mind you, I was still in Nigeria then. I didn’t really like my chances. At that, I was writing code and building projects (even though cookie cutter). I was learning and optimizing my profile LinkedIn and my Resume.
I applied to so many companies in Nigeria and abroad but well my buttocks hit the ground so many times. This was part of the reason I later burnt out. One of my brothers later told me that applying to every job was not a wise strategy. What do you think?
Anyway, I applied for one such job, and I got something else instead of a rejection or an acceptance. The recruiter sent me resources to go read on. I decided to grant him the benefit of the doubt. I opened the link. It was actually a podcast.
I can’t remember the series. This was the first time that I had the voice of Mr. Mentor. He was talking about a book that he was currently writing. The ideas he was sharing in the podcast lit my mind up.
This is usually a sign of kindred spirits. At least for me.
Kindred spirits aren’t necessarily ones that walk together forever.
There is a connection between them that causes them to help each other achieve their stories.
My first communication with Mr. Mentor
I immediately searched for his book and began to read.
Then I found his email for receiving ideas on the book. I decided to send him an email. I actually can’t remember the email I sent him. Unfortunately, I foolishly cleared my Gmail archives last year. So I cannot show you a snapshot.
The long and short of the email was that I really enjoyed his thoughts. I also shared some of my thoughts on the book. We sent a few emails back and forth and I asked if he would be willing to take me on as a mentee.
He said yes. I was bouncing on my buttocks on my wooden office chair.
How Mr. Mentor change my tech life
I didn’t actually get any jobs due to his mentorship but I got much more.
At first, he let me know that I needed to build a portfolio website. But to do that, I need 2–3 strong projects to put on there. What did he mean by strong projects? He meant projects that solved real-world problems. Not some intellectual exercise or some tutorial remake.
I showed him that I had worked on an optical character recognition platform. He checked it out. He was impressed. He suggested some changes to make to it.
After I showed him plans for other projects, he commended me and I started work on my portfolio website.
I sent him my portfolio website after a day or so. I used a template.
Just use a template and host it on GitHub for starters. Simplicity is key
He liked it. We had a brief hiatus in communication. But after I moved to my job with the great Christian brother we resumed communication.
This was for a different reason though. I was planning on studying physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology!!!
He gave me advice and offered to pay for preparatory courses.
There’s nothing like having a good mentor but you can actually find a great mentor.
And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. — Paulo Coelho.
Important things to note about mentors
A mentor helps you to focus. As a beginner, you lack focus. You do everything including things not needed at your level. This is a common trait of self-taught developers. A mentor cuts away the fluff and forces you to focus.
Submit to the authority of your mentor. It will sometimes be hard to see why what they’re saying makes any sense. If you trusted them enough to guide you, allow them to do just that.
You can change mentors as your needs change but never push the old mentor aside. Keep the spark alive.
You have to ask them to mentor you. Many of them are too busy and won’t always take the first step.
You need to have proof of what you’re doing. Don’t expect anyone to mentor you if you’re doing nothing or can’t prove what you’re doing. Even I wouldn’t and I’m not that important.
adplist is a wonderful place to find mentors online. You can also join developer groups online or in-person to find mentors.
There are at least 2 or 3 people out there willing to help you achieve your story. Search for and find them.