On this episode of Ruby for All, Andrew and Julie welcome Mike Munroe, Co-founder of OBLSK, a Rails consultancy, who’s here today to discuss their Junior Developer Apprentice Program. Today, we’ll learn all the details about the program, the importance of having a mentor and a framework in place to guide the Junior developer’s progress, and how Mike believes with the right mentorship, a Junior developer can become independent and self-sustaining within a year. There’s a conversation on how remote mentorship differs from in-person mentorship, and some strategies to help Juniors ask for help. He also talks about the importance of not stressing about time, encourages the exploration of learning, and why Mike believes for Juniors to be successful there has to be passion. Press download the hear much more! 

[00:01:01] Mike tells us what OBLSK is and his background in programming. 

[00:03:10] If you want to hear about the Apprentice Program, Mike gives us all the details and how he believes it’s important to invest in Junior developers and support them.  

[00:08:56] We hear how Mike thinks that a Junior developer, with the right mentorship, can become independent and self-sustaining within a year. 

[00:12:46] Julie tells us she is good about reaching put for help when she’s stuck on something but feels like many people may have a problem with reaching out,  Mike shares some tactics to help Juniors ask for help, such as asking any questions at any time, even if you think it’s a “stupid question, and put code into GitHub.

[00:18:04] Andrew highlights something Mike said, and he strongly believes in, is that if a Junior has a question, invite that Junior into the room for the meeting to be a part of the team. 

[00:19:01] Mike stresses the importance of leaders showing vulnerability and humility to make Juniors feel more comfortable.  

[00:00:00] A great piece of advice Mike shares for Juniors is not letting time be a stressor, also taking breaks and pursue tangents to keep the process fun and positive.

[00:24:14] We learn why Mike believes for Juniors to be successful there has to be passion.

[00:26:46] With the current Junior Apprentice who’s gone through the program, Julie wonders how the program has been for him, and Mike explains some of the struggles with Git and Front-End Technologies.

[00:29:43] Find out where you can follow Mike on the web. 

Panelists:

Andrew Mason

Julie J.

Guest:

Mike Munroe

Sponsors:

GoRails

Honeybadger

Links:

Andrew Mason Twitter

Andrew Mason Website

Julie J. Twitter

Julie J. Website

Mike Munroe Twitter

Mike Munroe LinkedIn

OBLSK

OBLSK 30/60/90 Apprenticeship Program