who you gonna call?
In the UK it seems mentoring has gone out of fashion, but then does this mean that young people starting their careers are losing out?
I remember my very first mentor, his name was John and I had just started my career working at Loughborough College. I learnt a lot, from hardware to professionalism, in those first few years first as a student then as a technician. At the time I remember there was a big money-saving drive, but the department he looked after always had lots of extra kit and none of other staff could work out why. It was a very simple process: he never chucked out anything that worked. If it was too old to use, but still worked, he would take it apart for spares. His theory was, if you got the spare parts for nothing then you had more money to spend on items that you did not have. I still, to this day, dismantle hardware before getting rid of anything.
The point to this story is that, without his guidance, I would have made far more rookie mistakes, but he guided me, making sure I acted professional as well as teaching me the technical side of the job. Now, mentoring is a very American thing and is used lot less in the UK. Maybe this is something to do with the use of mentors in schools to help ‘vulnerable’ students, and the stigma that the word mentoring currently has. I have noticed that many young people starting out in their career could avoid making the same mistakes again if they had someone to guide them. Everyone makes mistakes, but how does a young person starting out know if they had made a mistake if no one tells them?
So how do we address this balance in education where there are many technicians working on their own, which means there is no way of them being mentored within the school? In this case, is there a need for ICT support staff in education to have access to some kind of resource - meaning they can see how they go about getting a mentor and a list of people willing to accept mentors. Having a mentor is not limited to young technicians starting their career. Having a mentor can be, and should be, a career long thing.
Are you a young technician? Do you feel that you would benefit from mentor? Or, are you an old hand network manager and want to mentor someone but not sure how to go about it? What are your views?
Hi,
I could much do with a mentor; currently crawling through the MCSE and will be looking for a job in the new year. would love to hear what others have to say
It used to be called an apprenticeship. Again, companies saw this as a luxury and it was an easy target to cut.
I spent 13 years with a properly apprenticed violin repairer learning the tricks of the trade. I was still learning at the end.
Of course this is an invaluable way to learn, and has to be the best. Certainly it’s better than to be sat in front of someone well versed in theory but zilch practical, hands on experience.
Most schools i’d imagine would only have one person in IT Support. It’s completely suicidal starting someone on a complex network with no prior knowledge or guidance, yet schools do this every day.
My mentor teaching me Violin repair wasn’t paid any allowance for an apprentice, it was just expected of him, and he hated that.
Similarly at school here, I have a new young counterpart who i’m expected to show the job for nothing.