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> When it comes time to pass it along to juniors, they either can't or won't... Some are that way I suppose but as I was learning, many far more experienced, l

> When it comes time to pass it along to juniors, they either can't or won't... Some are that way I suppose but as I was learning, many far more experienced, late-career gurus went out of their way to teach me. It does require asking good questions and showing some genuine interest and engagement in learning though. It's also important to be able to show at least some aptitude which helps convince someone to invest the time in you. Over several decades and lots of hands-on experience, I eventually advanced to proven veteran status myself and I was pretty much constantly trying to teach the newer recruits the deeper work of not just how to do it but why and how to think about the overall process. I think I managed to do some good since several of the newbies I informally mentored have now become senior vets themselves. However, several times I was actually told by the division head to spend less time explaining to my staff and just do the work myself as quickly as possible. Even though I'm now happily retired, I regularly volunteer as a guest lecturer at several university programs. Like many fields, full-time professors don't really have the breadth of practical experience or real-world skills themselves. The good ones realize this and rely on people like me who've successfully done it over decades to fill in the gaps.

yterdy 3y ago
>Some are that way I suppose but as I was learning, many far more experienced, late-career gurus went out of their way to teach me. It does require asking good questions and showing some genuine interest and engagement in learning though. IME, reminding them of themselves is far more important than any curiosity, aptitude, or drive you may bring to the table (other than in that it reflects their self-image). That similarity often creates a pseudo-familial affinity which serves as the unconscious backbone of the relationship. This is the reason why cross-ethnic and cross-gender (and cross-class, cross-sexuality, etc.) mentorship seems to happen less often than when the mentor and prospective mentee are of the same gender and ethnic identity. You got lucky and/or are a straight white dude in a field largely occupied by straight white dudes. What happens for the rest of us is usually one of two outcomes: a) The mentor makes an effort to support the mentee, but holds them to unreasonably high standards per unconscious bias, generally causing the relationship to disintigrate over time. or b) The mentor is threatened by the prospective mentee's aptitude appearing in an individual that they can't bring themselves to relate to; they will withhold support, if not actively impede their growth.

yterdy 3y ago

>Some are that way I suppose but as I was learning, many far more experienced, late-career gurus went out of their way to teach me. It does require asking good questions and showing some genuine interest and engagement in learning though. IME, reminding them of themselves is far more important than any curiosity, aptitude, or drive you may bring to the table (other than in that it reflects their self-image). That similarity often creates a pseudo-familial affinity which serves as the unconscious backbone of the relationship. This is the reason why cross-ethnic and cross-gender (and cross-class, cross-sexuality, etc.) mentorship seems to happen less often than when the mentor and prospective mentee are of the same gender and ethnic identity. You got lucky and/or are a straight white dude in a field largely occupied by straight white dudes. What happens for the rest of us is usually one of two outcomes: a) The mentor makes an effort to support the mentee, but holds them to unreasonably high standards per unconscious bias, generally causing the relationship to disintigrate over time. or b) The mentor is threatened by the prospective mentee's aptitude appearing in an individual that they can't bring themselves to relate to; they will withhold support, if not actively impede their growth.