Why You Should Be Mentoring New Programmers

I’ve been mentoring for the School Of Code for the past few years and there’s nothing more rewarding than seeing mentees go from hardly understanding how to write a for loop, to planning and organising a full-stack web app with a team of peers, in just a few weeks.

I started mentoring right after my bootcamp (also at the School of Code) ended in 2021, just as I had started my very first tech job as a junior developer. Some of you may balk at this — perhaps it seems too soon for someone to start mentoring right as they’re starting out in their career — but in the context it made perfect sense to both me and my mentee. I had just finished the bootcamp, I knew what other bootcampers would be going through. I might not be the worlds greatest programmer but that’s what they needed to see — that you didn’t have to be perfect in order to start out your career, and the most important part of being a developer is the willingness to put yourself out their and learn new things. It’s something my very first mentee thanked me for, they were grateful for my experience and it helped them find their own confidence as a budding developer.

It’s not just been great to watch them grow, either. I’ve found it has massively benefitted me. Something I’ve not been shy about talking about here is how I struggle with imposter syndrome, and when I am able to answer questions from budding developers about concepts I didn’t realise I understood, it’s a confidence boost. If I didn’t know the answer, showing them that it was okay not to know and going out to solve the issue together was reassuring not just for them, but reinforced the idea for myself that it’s okay not to know everything.

And it’s benefitted my career as well. Mentoring looks good on any CV, but when you can specifically talk about how you’re contributing to the entire tech industry by mentoring new juniors, it shows you’re passionate, able to explain things clearly, and willing to work with people to improve their own skills. Talking through problems with your mentees is hugely beneficial to your own understanding of a concept. Some tech concepts are hard to understand, and explaining them in a way juniors can grasp is a skill that is worth developing. If your team is hiring juniors, being the person they can come to to ask you complicated questions is a hugely important skill that not enough people have. I know I wouldn’t be where I am in the industry today if it wasn’t for mentoring. It’s something that always came up during interviews and always made me look that extra bit better than other candidates.

There’s not many things in this world that satisfy a need to contribute while also having an element of self improvement, and mentoring is one of the greatest things you can do.

(PS School of Code are still looking for more mentors for their 16 week bootcamp starting in September. If you are interested in giving back to the tech industry and can spare 30 minutes a week to help mentor a student for that time, find more information here)