I had thoroughly looked through chapter 1 “Software Craftsmanship Manifesto” and the introductions to chapters 2-6, and I had found some things that had made me feel anxious. I am not stating that there is anything wrong with chapter 1 or the introductions, but rather I learned about some things that I think I should have learned about earlier. One particular part of chapter 1 that caught my attention was a paragraph of “What is Apprenticeship”, where it had teased at something that relates to a struggle that I have; “Most people won’t have an opportunity to work in a formal apprenticeship where they are being mentored by software craftsmen. In reality, most people have to claw and scratch their apprenticeships out of less-than-ideal situations.” chapter 1 mostly described in short about how Apprenticeship is more about your “journey” rather than those that helped cultivate the goal that you have longed for, and that you have to find the answers all by yourself. As someone who has very little experience with Apprenticeship, it feels more like trying to put down all of your problems in pursuit of accomplishing much greater than your initial expectations.
I had said before, I do not have anything that I found wrong with anything I read from chapter 1 or the introductions to chapters 2-6. On the contrary however, I felt that the reading had not explained the “Accurate Self-Assessment” introduction very well. I may need to read more about it in the future, but I had felt that the thought of “comparing yourself to others to improve” did not sit very well with me. The reason I felt that you should not compare yourself to others is because we are all have our sights set on different ambitions. While I can understand why others find this part of the reading useful to find some inspiration for their own goals, we still have to find our answers all by ourselves at the end of the day. The “Perpetual Learning” introduction further explains that we need to have the desire to seek out knowledge regardless of our own circumstances in order to be inclined to take in all the tools and skills needed to achieve our goals.
Having explained chapter 5, I find that the introductions to chapters 3, 5 and 7 seem most relevant to me after reading all of chapter 1 and the following introductions. I think in my personal opinion that having a great interest in your field of study or your life-long dream requires that you need to look into your interests more in-depth and decide whether you would like to continue your career on your current trajectory or if you want to divert to a different career as a means of exploring your own interests.
From the blog CS@Worcester – Elias' Blog by Elias Boone and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.