If you’re like me, you probably dislike doing reading for school and find it to be pretty tedious, usually resulting in a drab writing exercise afterwards. So, reading through the first chapter and then the introductions to the following chapters in our textbook Apprenticeship Patterns – Guidance for the Aspiring Software Craftsman seemed like it would be similarly boring/tedious, but I found the writing to be engaging and discuss relevant topics with relatable analogies.
The first chapter was primarily an introduction, and I found its discussion of what Apprenticeship is and means in modern society versus how it was implemented in Medieval times where the term originates. One point brought up is that modern “apprenticeships”, or positions with a similar title are more similar to what I think of as an internship, and may involve a lot of training but it mostly involves learning how to use a system/software rather than learning how it actually works behind the scenes or even how to improve it.
By the same token, the author’s discussion of Medieval apprenticeship and how it correlates to modern situations resonated with me – particularly the division into the three main classes of Apprentice, Journeyman, and Master. Looking back, at the beginning of my Computer Science degree I was certainly a green apprentice and came in with an open mind and I was very fortunate to have family members who are undoubtedly masters to help teach me as their apprentice. Thinking about these individuals, they ARE in fact always learning more and new things and in their own way delving into their own areas of interest to try things which may have never been done before. But, as I approach graduation I feel myself starting to have more tendencies and qualities of a Journeyman as described. With early-career C.S. trends commonly involving a few different companies or departments, it’s easy to see more correlation there to the Journeyman, who travels sharing knowledge with others while also learning from them and improving their repertoire.
In reading the introductions to chapters 2-6, I found them to be quick, engaging and informative – exactly my type of reading. The chapter 3 introduction about Taking the Long Road resonated with me the most and left me with a lot to think about. Many times I’ve found myself feeling like the individual in the example, both inspired/excited by the sheer power and intellect of some other around me and discouraged/terrified of how far ahead of me they clearly appear to be. However, as the text discusses we are all traveling on the same general road as developers and Computer Science professionals, some have just been traveling on it longer, faster, and/or in different directions than us. It’s largely about the journey that gets you to your destination, which we will inevitably achieve as long as we refuse to give up.
From the blog CS@Worcester – Tech. Worth Talking About by jelbirt and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.
Hey guys, it’s a weird feeling to be wrapping up my last semester in my undergraduate career in computer science (and sociology). For this final installment of my AMPATH sprint series, I will just go over the general overview of what went on for my team.
In this final installment of my individual apprenticeship patterns, I think an important one to write about would be Find Mentors. To summarize the main point of this one, I would say that it encourages people to observe their role and their surroundings to see where they can find the most value from learning or use their resources. It encourages you to look at things from one level back instead of blindly jumping into something right away.
Over the past two weeks, my team continued to discuss what we are working on as usual. We have come to the conclusion that we will add our Search Bar component once there are updates and more of a base to work off of. This was concluded after we realized that the process would be much more efficient. The parameters and details on the search bar would be harder to figure out without making up a base anyways.
Hey guys! This sprint retrospective will cover what the WSU Coders Without Borders team has done from the week before spring break and up until this week.