One of my goals in 2016 is to develop a mentorship with a person from an underrepresented community in tech. To that end, I’m opening up office hours. Here’s what that will look like.
I’m looking for someone who could use a mentor in programming or software engineering. Ideally, this person would be looking to get into web development (or related technologies) or just starting their career. This relationship would ideally last from the end of January 2016 for a 4-6 month period. To this bourgeoning developer, I’ll be available – completely free of cost – for a 1-1.5 hour period each week to look over code samples, pair program, give practical programming advice, do mock interviews, or whatever they believe they need the most help with. (Ideally, this schedule would be somewhat flexible, given that I have a 10-month-old at home.)
Here are a list of ideas to get you thinking, separated by topic. This list is by no means exhaustive. If you’re looking to learn something that isn’t on here, reach out anyway. We could either learn it together, or I may be able to put you in touch with someone that could help you.
- HTML
- CSS
- Ruby
- JavaScript
- CoffeeScript
- Rails
- jQuery
- Node.js
- React.js
- Backbone.js
- Test-driven development
- Object oriented programming
- Agile software methodologies
- Preparing a conference talk
- Debugging
- Performance optimization
- Contributing to open source
- Pair programming
- Programming interviews
- Vim text editor
- Basic Linux
- Version control (Git)
I’d like to see more diversity (and, importantly, retention of that diversity) in this field, and I’d like to invest in a junior developer who will help increase the numbers of women and people of color in the technology and programming fields.
The ideal candidate would either be looking to get into the programming and/or web/software development field, or just beginning her career. They would have some specific skills they wanted to work on, ideally with specific goals, milestones, or projects they wanted to achieve, create, or build. They would also be either located in Seattle or available to video chat or talk on the phone, with availability in the evenings Pacific Time or potentially on weekends. If you don’t have your own computer, I have a laptop I could loan you for the mentoring period.
Send me an email with your name, your resume (if you have one; it doesn't need to have any tech experience on it; but I'd like to get a sense of what you've done), and a letter of introduction. I’d love to hear about your educational and/or professional background as well as why you're interested in a career in tech and your hopes, goals, and aspirations in the field of web and/or software development. Please also speak to how you think a mentor could help you achieve these goals. If you could also put any words to how you'll ensure that our time together is productive, I'd love to hear about that. Please email me by January 20, 2016. I'll do my best to at least respond to anyone who contacts me.
I'm planning to contact 2-3 people who reach out where there seems like there will be the best fit by around January 28. After that, we'll put together a schedule of in-person meetups, email, phone, Google Hangouts, or a combination thereof that works for both of us!
I’m an Engineering Lead at WINTR, a design and technology agency in Seattle, WA. I’ve been building websites since 2007, and have spent the bulk of my career writing web applications in Ruby, Rails, and JavaScript. You can check out my resume here. Prior to software engineering, I spent three years as a teacher in both formal and informal capacities for ages 6 months - college, so my teaching and tutoring experience will aid us as we explore topics together.
Just heard about this project from one of your mentees at the Atlanta Ruby User Group. Fantastic job! I hope more devs (myself included) can be this proactive about bringing new folks into the dev world.