Apprenticeships, on the job starting point
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Well my employer are looking at taking on a couple of apprentices in my team, (Microsoft based development, .net/Sql Server) and I just got asked to think about an initial six month pathway for them. No, I have no experience in training or teaching... My initial thoughts are along the lines of; Introduction to the Company Software Development Fundamentals Web Development Fundamentals Database Development Fundamentals OOP Fundamentals Unit Testing Fundamentals ...along with tasks aligning to each of these, (internal only, potentially throwaway, developments), so we could undertake code reviews, peer reviews possibly some face to face discussions to assess understanding. Given the wealth of experience you guys have, does anyone have any thoughts or opinions in this area, perhaps a bit more detail or blatantly obvious things I'm missing in my initial panic at a task completely out of my comfort zone? Any and all idea's appreciated, cheers!
Rhys "If you ever start taking things too seriously, just remember that we are talking monkeys on an organic spaceship flying through the Universe"
Make sure the other team members know to give them time as well. Perhaps rotate them around. Give them words of encouragement. I've seen at first hand what can happen to a developer's morale when they've been viciously cut down.
If there is one thing more dangerous than getting between a bear and her cubs it's getting between my wife and her chocolate.
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I prepared some exquisitely high grade Pekoe tea (purchased during my visit to Nuwara Eliya[^]), which I further flavoured with a small stick of cinnamon. It was very satisfying (my wife asked if there was more, but unfortunately that specific tea was over). I could prepare a "kadak chai" or a "Mumbai masala chai" by adding in an assortment of spices. I've a number of different teas at any given time in the kitchen. Flavouring tea works perfectly, but you flavour coffee with tooshie-mocha-caramel-latte with a touch of derrière aroma, and it's simply not coffee anymore. Crap, I can't even imagine how can some people pay to ruin an otherwise good drink. Unfortunately, this is the kind of stuff that seem to sell fast in the "coffee shops". I do occasionally drink coffee, but I think I prefer tea for its versatility. :)
"Real men drive manual transmission" - Rajesh.
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Are you working at a school? What background do these apprentices have? Because I believe all subjects except introduction to the company should have been covered already in school. My list would be: Introduction to the Company Company workflow Company applications and the usage of them. Company coding standards. Company applications internal workflow and object structure. Company database(s) Or have I misunderstood everything?
Be excellent to each other. And... PARTY ON, DUDES! Abraham Lincoln
No, not working in a school, and I'm trying to find out about background but as yet haven't been given a clear direction. I do however agree that all the subjects should have been covered but being in the UK, (and not having that background information), who knows... At the moment, and in general, my thoughts are to not be too company specific as I'd like to be able to give them the opportunity to think on their feet and apply what they know and what they learn regardless of the environment. I think you're right in they would need to know why some things get done certain ways, why we have coding standards, (and certainly what they are as learning to apply them would be appropriate), and yes having a company focus in those area's definitely gives context which is a great aid to learning.
Rhys "If you ever start taking things too seriously, just remember that we are talking monkeys on an organic spaceship flying through the Universe"
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Well my employer are looking at taking on a couple of apprentices in my team, (Microsoft based development, .net/Sql Server) and I just got asked to think about an initial six month pathway for them. No, I have no experience in training or teaching... My initial thoughts are along the lines of; Introduction to the Company Software Development Fundamentals Web Development Fundamentals Database Development Fundamentals OOP Fundamentals Unit Testing Fundamentals ...along with tasks aligning to each of these, (internal only, potentially throwaway, developments), so we could undertake code reviews, peer reviews possibly some face to face discussions to assess understanding. Given the wealth of experience you guys have, does anyone have any thoughts or opinions in this area, perhaps a bit more detail or blatantly obvious things I'm missing in my initial panic at a task completely out of my comfort zone? Any and all idea's appreciated, cheers!
Rhys "If you ever start taking things too seriously, just remember that we are talking monkeys on an organic spaceship flying through the Universe"
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Hm strange, when i entered my current company (my first job) they gave me few books and leave me alone to improve. I think your way of training is better. Don't forget to introduce the compiler, ways of debugging and so on. One of the mistakes of the unis are skipping very important part of programing - memory management. I wish you good luck :)
Microsoft ... the only place where VARIANT_TRUE != true
Was this a "first job" or an apprenticeship ? those two could be similar, but are most of the time different especially when the apprenticeship is done while going to school.
I'd rather be phishing!
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Was this a "first job" or an apprenticeship ? those two could be similar, but are most of the time different especially when the apprenticeship is done while going to school.
I'd rather be phishing!
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You missed a couple of things: 1) The importance of BACON 2) Coffee making 101 3) Go to supplies and get a new supply of letter "E"s. These are essential tasks for an apprentice! Kevin Wilson described the job role quite well: YouTube (NSFW)[^]
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Shouldn't 3 be the any key? Works especially well on a tablet :-)
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Shouldn't 3 be the any key? Works especially well on a tablet :-)
:-D
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Well my employer are looking at taking on a couple of apprentices in my team, (Microsoft based development, .net/Sql Server) and I just got asked to think about an initial six month pathway for them. No, I have no experience in training or teaching... My initial thoughts are along the lines of; Introduction to the Company Software Development Fundamentals Web Development Fundamentals Database Development Fundamentals OOP Fundamentals Unit Testing Fundamentals ...along with tasks aligning to each of these, (internal only, potentially throwaway, developments), so we could undertake code reviews, peer reviews possibly some face to face discussions to assess understanding. Given the wealth of experience you guys have, does anyone have any thoughts or opinions in this area, perhaps a bit more detail or blatantly obvious things I'm missing in my initial panic at a task completely out of my comfort zone? Any and all idea's appreciated, cheers!
Rhys "If you ever start taking things too seriously, just remember that we are talking monkeys on an organic spaceship flying through the Universe"
What we do these days is "learning by doing" - i.e. we give a new developer a real, but low priority task and help them complete it. Then
GOTO 10, and after a few iterations they should be able to start contributing. -
Well my employer are looking at taking on a couple of apprentices in my team, (Microsoft based development, .net/Sql Server) and I just got asked to think about an initial six month pathway for them. No, I have no experience in training or teaching... My initial thoughts are along the lines of; Introduction to the Company Software Development Fundamentals Web Development Fundamentals Database Development Fundamentals OOP Fundamentals Unit Testing Fundamentals ...along with tasks aligning to each of these, (internal only, potentially throwaway, developments), so we could undertake code reviews, peer reviews possibly some face to face discussions to assess understanding. Given the wealth of experience you guys have, does anyone have any thoughts or opinions in this area, perhaps a bit more detail or blatantly obvious things I'm missing in my initial panic at a task completely out of my comfort zone? Any and all idea's appreciated, cheers!
Rhys "If you ever start taking things too seriously, just remember that we are talking monkeys on an organic spaceship flying through the Universe"
I would expect that your apprentices have some background in programming already. Otherwise, you are really going to have your hands full. It might be like fitting a round peg into a limaçon shaped hole. I always heard that schooling and theory are nice but you don't really learn about programming until you start a real job. I guess I would focus on things that are not taught in school. How we do things here * sw dev process * dev tools * roles, permissions * docs, support * the "maybe someday" dream list Why we do it that way * CMM growth and planning * economics and reality of business Why everybody else is different * innovation * skills vs cost Your idea for some mini internal projects is a good one. Some favorites are: phone list, bug tracker, time & expense tracker. Code reviews are a great way of tuning-up a new developer really quickly. I've seen a lot of developers started-off as testers so they see the evil that can come from mistakes (get them thinking of how to avoid anti-patterns) and organize their thoughts into test plans.
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Well my employer are looking at taking on a couple of apprentices in my team, (Microsoft based development, .net/Sql Server) and I just got asked to think about an initial six month pathway for them. No, I have no experience in training or teaching... My initial thoughts are along the lines of; Introduction to the Company Software Development Fundamentals Web Development Fundamentals Database Development Fundamentals OOP Fundamentals Unit Testing Fundamentals ...along with tasks aligning to each of these, (internal only, potentially throwaway, developments), so we could undertake code reviews, peer reviews possibly some face to face discussions to assess understanding. Given the wealth of experience you guys have, does anyone have any thoughts or opinions in this area, perhaps a bit more detail or blatantly obvious things I'm missing in my initial panic at a task completely out of my comfort zone? Any and all idea's appreciated, cheers!
Rhys "If you ever start taking things too seriously, just remember that we are talking monkeys on an organic spaceship flying through the Universe"
When I have to teach others to prepare them for the company I always do three things: 1. Keep in mind that they can come with fresh and new ideas. 2. Show them the company, introduce people, explain what we make deeply. 3. Give them an exam that will take more or less one week to be accomplished. In that exam there are small but important things related to the methodology applied in the company. This is good for two reasons: - They face real problems and try to solve them in the best way following the rules to solve them. - Some times (not much but it has happened) they come up with better solutions to the problems we face. - Being successful or not solving that exam, at least they will understand perfectly what was being asked and why of the given solution. This is working for me and for the company. :thumbsup:
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
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Well my employer are looking at taking on a couple of apprentices in my team, (Microsoft based development, .net/Sql Server) and I just got asked to think about an initial six month pathway for them. No, I have no experience in training or teaching... My initial thoughts are along the lines of; Introduction to the Company Software Development Fundamentals Web Development Fundamentals Database Development Fundamentals OOP Fundamentals Unit Testing Fundamentals ...along with tasks aligning to each of these, (internal only, potentially throwaway, developments), so we could undertake code reviews, peer reviews possibly some face to face discussions to assess understanding. Given the wealth of experience you guys have, does anyone have any thoughts or opinions in this area, perhaps a bit more detail or blatantly obvious things I'm missing in my initial panic at a task completely out of my comfort zone? Any and all idea's appreciated, cheers!
Rhys "If you ever start taking things too seriously, just remember that we are talking monkeys on an organic spaceship flying through the Universe"
Rhys Gravell wrote:
Well my employer are looking at taking on a couple of apprentices in my team,
Presumably you mean 'no experience' and not 'no knowledge'. If so a senior developer must be tasked with mentoring them. Probably for at least 6 months and probably at least with 10% utilization per new developer. The mentor must be enthusiastic about the task and should probably be reviewed based on the success of the developers. And when I say "must" in the above I mean exactly that. It isn't an option. Failing at that means that the success of the program becomes solely dependent on the new developers. And that is a really poor way for a company to proceed. Not to mention of course that it will probably fail probably at the 90% level (thus no gain for the cost.)
