you can build great relationships in a fast paced environment with very senior and very junior engineers thrown into the ring together. Er.... yes, a

you can build great relationships in a fast paced environment with very senior and very junior engineers thrown into the ring together. Er.... yes, absolutely. I don't think that's being disputed. Certainly not by me. I'm referring to the way it was done as described in his article. That is not a recipe for success. Or, at best: success achieved a lot less efficiently than it could have been. I've mentored quite a few younger engineers and it has gone both successfully and poorly. At a bare minimum, it requires a time and attention commitment from the mentor. Unless the job is so trivial (or the mentee so advanced) that the mentee can learn just by hanging around and watching. When I was a dishwasher in a restaurant (hey, a fast paced environment) it was very easy to train the other new kids. I didn't exactly need advance notice. When I was a cook, it took a little longer. Engineering is slightly more complex.