For this week’s additional blog post, I have decided to look at the apprenticeship pattern “The Long Road”. In this chapter you, are aspiring to become a master software developer. However, your aspiration conflicts with what people expect from you. Conventional wisdom tells you to take the highest-paying job and the first promotion you can get your hands on, to stop programming and get onto more important work rather than slowly building up your skills. In this chapter it is advised that you should focus on the long-term. Value learning and long-term growth opportunities over salary and traditional notions of leadership. No one is so far ahead that you can’t match their skill level given the decades you will have to hone your craft. No business or technical domain is closed to you. According to Dave H. Hoover & Adewale Oshineye, the authors of the book, they say on this,

“This pattern is not for people aspiring to become CIOs or project managers, or filthy rich. Along the way, it is not unlikely that you will take on roles of power and responsibility or find yourself quite wealthy. However, these roles and benefits are not the main motivation of the successful apprentice—they are merely by-products of a lifelong journey. And rather than counting the days to retirement, the craftsman will willingly and joyfully work into her final decades. We don’t want to give the impression that everyone must follow a single road (see Draw Your Own Map) or that this is the right road for every software developer (see A Different Road). Some people leave development permanently and become executives, testers, salespeople, or project managers”. (Dave H. Hoover & Adewale Oshineye).

This chapter was an interesting one to read. I liked how it talked about how this is a unique profession, and you will be doing it for some time if the passion is there. I also liked how it talked about how you shouldn’t jump ship right away if there is an opportunity away from software development. I don’t think that this chapter will stick with me out in the real world, however. I feel as though this chapter is geared towards people with a mind set of already leaving this profession.

From the blog CS@worcester – Michale Friedrich by mikefriedrich1 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

For this week’s blog post, I have decided to look at the apprenticeship pattern “retreat into competence”. The idea of this chapter is that you, a software developer, are beginning to realize how little you know, or that you have taken on a new challenge that is not working well in your favor, or your having problems with both. Due to you realizing how little you know you begin to get overwhelmed with your ignorance. The solution to this is to pull back and launch yourself like a stone from a catapult. You need to retreat or take some time away from your task to re collect yourself so you can come back to the task stronger than before. According to Dave H. Hoover & Adewale Oshineye, the authors of the book, they say on this,

“An apprenticeship is a roller-coaster ride. You will experience the thrill of learning new technologies, leveraging your knowledge and creativity to deliver value to your customers. But you will also experience the heart-in-your-throat terror of perceiving just how little you know compared to the craftsmen and experts you meet along the way. It can be overwhelming, particularly when a deadline is looming or when you’re dealing with production issues.” (Dave H. Hoover & Adewle Oshineye).

This pattern is most relevant to people who have stretched themselves to far thin to be able to concentrate on the task in front of them anymore. However, by pulling back you do have the chance to launch more forward than you have been able to before. Note however this pattern does come with risks as if you forget to launch back forward or don’t have the desire to there can be repercussions. I liked this chapter as I am a person who can get stretched thin very quickly and am not able to bring myself to walk away for a bit to recollect myself. I liked that this chapter talked about both the pros and the cons of using the pattern. This will be something that will stick with me while I’m in the field because I am prone to being stretched thin and will sit there and still try to figure out the problem for hours. By walking away for a bit, I will be able to launch forward.   

From the blog CS@worcester – Michale Friedrich by mikefriedrich1 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

For this week’s blog post, I have decided to talk about the chapter “The Deep End”.  The idea with this chapter is that you a software developer, feel as though you have hit a rut with your learning. To be able to feel confident you need to grow your skills, your confidence, and your portfolio of successful work. You feel the need to challenge yourself with bigger things. This may involve bigger projects, larger teams, more complex tasks, new and business domains, or new places. The solution to this problem is to jump into the deep end. The longer you wait and stir with the idea that you are in a rut the longer you will be in that rut. If an opportunity comes up when you can take a challenging job you should take it, most people learn by taking difficult jobs and expand their knowledge from the research it provides. According to Dave H. Hoover & Adewale Oshineye, the authors of the book, they say on this,

“Even though we advocate seeking out the most challenging tasks you are capable of, you still need to remember that if the water level is above your head it means you’re drowning. Even in Enrique’s example, where he was changing his life in a big way, he was still moving to a country where he knew at least one person and could speak the national language. It’s your responsibility to offset the risks of this approach by Finding Mentors and Kindred Spirits who can provide help when you need it” (Dave H. Hoover & Adewale Oshineye)

This means that if a job is too over your head, don’t take it just to prove yourself. If you need try to find a mentor that will help expand your knowledge. I found this chapter to be very interesting. I like how it talked about how if you feel as though you have reached the end, try to grab a more challenging project to expand your knowledge. I liked this because it reminds of being in school and being assigned project that I knew nothing about. By working on them and doing research I found those project to be the most fun to work on. This chapter will definitely be applied while I am out in the field as I will remember that enjoyment from school.

From the blog CS@worcester – Michale Friedrich by mikefriedrich1 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

For this week’s other blog post, I have decided to look at the chapter “Confront your ignorance”. This is somewhat a continuation of the previous chapter “Expose your ignorance”. The idea of this chapter is that you, a software developer, have found gaps in your skillset, gaps that are relevant to your daily work. These gaps include tools and techniques that you need to learn. However, you don’t know where to begin and it is already expected that you know these things. Unlike “exposing your ignorance”, the solution here is to not start asking questions to try and close this gap. The idea of this chapter is to divide and conquer what you need to learn by picking one skill, tool, or technique and activity fill those gaps. However, like the other chapter, can you actively close this gap by finding a mentor in the workplace who will teach you this. According to Dave H. Hoover & Adewale Oshineye, the authors of the book, they say on this,

“This pattern is closely tied to Expose Your Ignorance, but implementing it is less of a challenge to your pride because it can be done in private, without anyone else ever finding out the things you did not know. However, as an apprentice with aspirations to mastery, you need to be willing to Expose Your Ignorance as well. Using this pattern in isolation (that is, confronting your ignorance without exposing it) runs the risk of encouraging a culture where failure and learning are unacceptable because everybody does their learning in secret.” (Dave H. Hoover & Adewale Oshineye Pg. 29)

After reading this chapter, it has changed slightly the way I will think in a work environment. I liked how this chapter coupled ideas from the previous chapter giving me a more deeper understanding about learning and growing in the workplace. I though it was cool how ideas were continued in this chapter with a different meaning. Now when presented with the issue of my own ignorance, I know now the way to think if this should be something I’m asking question about or learning on my own.

From the blog CS@worcester – Michale Friedrich by mikefriedrich1 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

For this week’s blog post, I have decided to look at the apprenticeship pattern “Unleash your Enthusiasm”. 11this chapter is all about you as a programmer being very excited about the craft of software development. However, you find that you are holding back and being more enthusiastic about the work your colleagues are doing. Fear not, as your enthusiasm and love for the craft does not go unnoticed. Because of your inexperience, it brings some unique attributes to the team, including that infectious enthusiasm and an unfettered imagination. According to Dave H. Hoover & Adewale Oshineye, the authors of the book, they say on this,

“In any group setting, there is a tendency to conform to the norm, particularly for newcomers. Most teams are not hyper-passionate or overly enthusiastic about technology. Predictably, they are focused on delivering the next project or improving on the aspects of the development life cycle that are causing them pain. Therefore, enthusiastic apprentices can often succumb to the urge to fly under the radar. They either repress their enthusiasm altogether or allow it to manifest only outside of their day jobs.” (Dave H. Hoover, Adewale Oshineye Pg. 22).

Essentially because of you being a newcomer you tend to try and acclimate to the rest of the group and start to lose that newcomer enthusiasm and begin to try and become unnoticed. The yare risks however that come from unleashing your enthusiasm. One of these risks are that if the morale is low or the team is not welcoming, you will likely get some eye rolling from your enthusiasm.  Another risk that could come from unleashing your enthusiasm is depending on the team, they may not enjoy that you are exposing your ignorance and where your knowledge stands.

From reading this chapter I found it to be an interesting take on when you begin working in a job setting with a new team. I liked that in the chapter it talks about both the positives and negatives of unleashing your enthusiasm. Although this chapter did not really change the way that I think about programming and my enthusiasm when I would get a new job. Knowing who I am as a person and my personality, I am not one to “unleash” my enthusiasm on a new group of individuals, so I don’t see this chapter as being helpful in that sense. However, if I were to train a newcomer and they brought this enthusiasm to the table, I now know what they could bring to the table, and I will not disregard it now.

From the blog CS@worcester – Michale Friedrich by mikefriedrich1 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

For this week’s blog post, I have decided to look at the apprenticeship pattern “The White Belt”. This chapter talks about how you have gained a deep understanding of your first language and have become confident. However, you are struggling to learn new things and it has become more difficult to learn new skills. The main idea of this chapter is to wear a white belt and forget everything you have been taught thus far and learn from someone with a blackbelt. Dave H. Hoover & Adewale Oshineye, the authors of the book, say on this, “Wearing the white belt is based on the realization that while the black belt knows the way, the white belt has no choice but to learn the way”. (Dave H. Hoover & Adewale Oshineye). As discussed in the text, when you take this approach in learning some new material this will accelerate your learning process tremendously. When you take this step towards ignorance, you can express yourself idiomatically and gain a far better understanding of your new knowledge. This way when you consider both what you learned and your old knowledge you have developed productive insights in both fields.

What I found interesting about this pattern was that it’s like what we learned in the chapter “Your First Language”. In that chapter it mentioned finding a main language but not forgetting about what you learned in the past. With this chapter we can apply both knowledges and expand on our main language. By being able to take a step back you can develop your skills in a way that I didn’t eve think about. Now knowing this knowledge, it has made me rec consider what I would be doing out in the real world at my profession. If presented with a problem that I have no past knowledge about, instead of trying to guess what the solution to it would be I can ask someone who knows, a.k.a a blackbelt, and expand my knowledge of the subject. With everything I Have learned I both chapters, this gets me excited to go out into the world and gain more knowledge to become a “blackbelt”.

Book: Apprenticeship Patterns, Dave H. Hoover & Adewale Oshineye

From the blog CS@worcester – Michale Friedrich by mikefriedrich1 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.