For my last apprenticeship pattern blog post, I felt that the pattern Sweep the Floor was appropriate given where I currently am at in my career, given that I hope to be starting in the very near future. This pattern refers to the scenario in which you’re a new apprentice on a project or a new member of a team and you’re not sure what your place is in the team, so you want to contribute and earn the team’s trust. The solution to this is to volunteer for simple, necessary tasks that no one else wants to do and to make sure to do a great job with them. Of course, you want to make sure that you don’t end up only doing menial tasks that no one else wants to do and that you’re given more challenging assignments after proving yourself “worthy”.

As I said earlier, this pattern is probably one of the most applicable to me at the moment, because once I start I can see myself in almost the exact same scenario as described in the pattern. I always figured that most junior level roles start with you being assigned simple tasks like one-liner bug fixes to help you get acquainted with the code base, but I hadn’t considered that it would be a good idea to take on tasks like literally sweeping the floor in order to build confidence as a member of the team. Of course, I don’t entirely agree with consistently taking on tasks that aren’t relevant to what you want to work towards, but there’s merit in doing menial labor when you happen upon it. As long as you make sure to let it be known that you want to be challenged and not just be comfortable standing still working as the team’s gopher.

Overall, I would say that it’s very likely that I’ll end up using this pattern in the very near future, so hopefully I remember to avoid the negative consequences of applying it. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this pattern would be useful for me anytime I happen to enter a new team, not just my first one.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Andy Pham by apham1 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

The apprenticeship pattern Nurture Your Passion refers to the problem in which you feel the environment in which you work in is stifling your passion for the craft. Depending on which aspect of work you feel is doing this there may be different solutions for everyone. For example, if you’re in a situation of constant project death marches that are sapping your time and energy, then you need to set clear boundaries and protect your passion. Whether that means to decline working “culturally pressured” overtime to avoid burning out or not would likely depend on how much you feel these death marches are affecting you.

As someone who hasn’t had much if any experience in the industry, this pattern definitely worries me a little. I’ve heard similar horror stories about project death marches from game developers working in the games industry. People who were filled with passion for their craft entering an industry that commonly abuses that passion with forced overtime until they burn out. Then, once you finish the project you’re working on, you’re laid off in an effort to cut costs by reducing headcount because you’re no longer needed, not because you’ve done anything wrong.

Obviously this isn’t the case with every company and the software development industry likely has many differences when compared to the games industry, but they do bear many similarities as well. This problem can be avoided by finding the right company that offers what you’re looking for, whether that be working overtime on something you believe in and enjoy, or somewhere that offers you good work-life balance. I’m always a little bit worried getting stuck in a situation with poor work-life balance because I’m not sure I would be confident enough to put my foot down, so I’ll have to remember in the future that I should focus on what’s best for me because I’m sure most companies wouldn’t think twice to cut costs whenever they can.

Overall, I agree with what the pattern’s saying and hopefully I’ll remember to nurture my passion even if it means getting passed over for promotions or having to find somewhere else to work.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Andy Pham by apham1 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

The apprenticeship pattern Find Mentors refers to the problem in which you feel like you require help and guidance because you’re not sure where the path is taking you and you feel unprepared for what’s to come. The solution to this is to reach out to other craftsmen who are ahead of you and to try your best to learn from them.

This pattern in particular was interesting to me because I feel as though I’m at or nearing a point in which I would benefit greatly from mentorship. Of course, no matter how far along the path you are, there’s always something to gain from mentorship. People who just graduated or recently graduated, I feel, are more likely to have that feeling of being unsure of what they should be doing. These are the people who need help and guidance the most in order to push them along the path. Even though it would be ideal for apprentices to find mentors, it’s definitely not as simple as it sounds. I’m certain that some people who are in need of mentorship don’t feel as though they know anyone who they feel comfortable asking to be a mentor to them. One of the most interesting parts of the section is that, even if you feel intimidated about reaching out to someone to ask for an apprenticeship, the risk of being rejected or considered strange by a potential mentor is relatively low, while the potential payoff is huge. So, if you find someone that you’re really interested in learning from, you should definitely reach out to them as there’s so much to gain.

I don’t feel like the pattern really changed the way that I think about Software Engineering, but I think my biggest takeaway from this is the make sure to not be too intimidated to reach out for mentorship. Had I not read this pattern I’m certain that I would have felt that way for a long time, so hopefully in the future I power through. I think it would be a good idea to seek out opportunities to find potential mentors in the future.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Andy Pham by apham1 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.