

Coding Blind - gandalfgeek
http://vivekhaldar.tumblr.com/post/1243047026/coding-blind

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wccrawford
I agree. We are. That's why when the company that I work for hired some guys
that were better than me, I was very excited.

See, when I first applied, I was looking for a junior position where I could
learn from others. It turned out I was the only developer.

I did well enough to keep things going, and I learned on my own as I went
along, but I kept wanting that mentor.

I did learn quite a lot from those guys before they quit, but I definitely
could have learned more.

It just so happens that one of those guys also runs a coding dojo here in
town. It's just a Meetup group where coders get together and take turns
programming, 1 at the helm and 1 as co-pilot, with everyone else watching.
After a few minutes, co-pilot become pilot and someone from the rest comes up
to be co-pilot.

You get to watch the pilot code, and give suggestions as the co-pilot.
Everyone learns and improves.

More junior programmers need to realize these things exist and take advantage
of them.

And BTW, carpenters learn the same way we do. Either practicing on their own,
or on-the-job. A teacher can tell you how to use the tools, and even grade you
on projects made with them, but they can't teach you nearly as well as
actually doing it over and over.

