How did you find your mentor?

cbolar

Hey everyone, how did you find that person who was interested in helping you expand career. I'm in a unique position because I work for a large financial institution in the area, unfortunately I am still a contractor. I say unique because I'm also the only contractor that gets to work on projects outside of the usual help desk work. The main project I work with is creating policies and configuration for Casper Suite which is an all in one management tool for OSX and iOS based devices. It functions same way we manage access and control in AD and software and updates in SCCM. While it's nice to be known as the Apple guy that fixes problems, I want to grow into an administrative role. I want something that helps me develop Linux, OSX and Windows skills that will cement my foundation. After that I wan't to understand networking and take the Cisco path. I'm learning this technology on my own when I can but I don't have someone to help me learn it the right way. I love my team and I'm happy to work with them but I also want to progress in my career. How did a mentor work out for you and what has it done for your career?

lsud00d

Mentors come in all shapes and forms so be cognizant that it might not be a Yoda/young Jedi type situation.

Show interest, show curiosity, show initiative, make conjectures, and for the love of all that's holy if you can Google something, Google it before you ask someone for help. People want to help those that will not waste their time, and mentorship is a two-way street so make sure your company is pleasant to keep.

I learned oodles from my mentors and I wouldn't be here without them. I had mentors that were technical, non-technical, managerial, team leads, and coworkers. I learned topics like how to excel at customer service, advanced infrastructure design, and how to translate technical requirements into not what a business wants, but what a business needs. If you want to excel in this vast field, take in everything, not just the technical side of things.

techfiend

I was lucky enough to have a close relative who's ccnp r&s certified and fairly successful in the field I'm aiming for, networking. He hasn't been very helpful on the job seeking area but he's been very helpful when it comes to technical. This helps me learn a bit easier and I get into higher level certs it should help me more. The best job seeking mentoring in my life is this forum. Seeing people's path to success is very helpful and I think has put me on the right path. I hope to pay it forward some day when I'm successful.

I work with someone that's been in the field for 25+ years and he's given me some great advice on what not to do in a career based on his own poor decisions. It's very helpful and motivational but it doesn't really put me on the right path, just shows me what to avoid. He told me a few months in that I should be looking at this job as a stepping stone and that my technical level is quite a bit higher than what he was expecting, originally a support role. I've shown him that I meet or exceeded his skill level in a lot of areas. Now I just need to be able to show that to another company with <1 year of paid experience.

When seeking a mentor I look for someone with a comparable personality and a lot more experience to see where they've been, what they know and how open they are to teaching me. It doesn't necessarily have to be a very successful mentor, you can learn just as much if not more from someone else's failures.

NetworkVeteran

cbolar wrote: »

Hey everyone, how did you find that person who was interested in helping you expand career.

That's me! I'm the person most interested in expanding my career. I suppose I've never found that elusive external mentor. It would be nice! I've used my own compass as a guide and it's served me well. I have found people slightly above me who wished to help me, folks on the same journey with me, and people slightly below who were open to my advice.

I want something that helps me develop Linux, OSX and Windows skills that will cement my foundation.

There's probably a certification for that?

After that I wan't to understand networking and take the Cisco path.

There's definitely a certification for that!

kohr-ah

I never found mine and am still looking. Instead I hit the books hard and pushed myself to further my career.

I became my own mentor and now am a mentor to others to further themselves.

If I had to say someone close was I had a coworker who he and I would discuss our futures and frustrations at work. We relied on one another to keep moving forward via certs or career changes.

UnixGuy

techfiend wrote: »

...The best job seeking mentoring in my life is this forum. Seeing people's path to success is very helpful and I think has put me on the right path. I hope to pay it forward some day when I'm successful.

..

+1

This forum has been my mentor! But I haven't found a real mentor, I reckon it would really help if I find someone I aspire to be like them

phantasm

My mentor was a close friend of the family. I had known him since I was in elementary school. I'd call him when I had problems with my DOS PC and he would ask if I read the manual. if I said no he would tell me to read it an hang up. Imagine that, a 6th grader reading the MS-DOS handbook. If I said yes we would discuss it. Mike was a good man. We played our last game of chess together with him in the hospital and me in VA. He passed away in 2010 and I miss him. I've been kind of soloing it since then.

E Double U

Found mine in the mirror

greg9891

In all honesty My mentor up to this point has been TECH EXAMS. This forum where we can all meet to give advice, vent frustrations, aspirations, study tips, resume help. Wouldn't have had the confidence to push into I.T. without you guys. The guys where I live don't believe in sending the elevator back down. there are some good ones but there out of my reach.

E Double U

greg9891 wrote: »

In all honesty My mentor up to this point has been TECH EXAMS. This forum where we can all meet to give advice, vent frustrations, aspirations, study tips, resume help. Wouldn't have had the confidence to push into I.T. without you guys. The guys where I live don't believe in sending the elevator back down. there are some good ones but there out of my reach.

You're welcome!

bloodshotbetty

...I married him!

Also, a friend of my husbands took me under her wing and has been helping me out a lot. Fortunately, since my husband is in IT, I have been able to meet a lot of people who are willing to help.

cbolar

I love the input everyone, you all make valid points. Im trying to soak up as much as I can in and outside of tech. Having customer service and business skills are BEYOND important in our field. It's one of the things that some of us forget from time to time. As far as the certifications go, they'll come along while I study at WGU. WGU has been a great learning experience, I'm just anxious when it comes to applying what I'm learning while learning it. Granted I know you can't hop in from day one and expect to do everything, that wouldn't be realistic but one can dream! We'll see how it goes.

I overheard another big project that the team needs more help with and before the conversation was over I volunteered to be a part of it. I got a smile and a joke about it which usually is a good thing in our department.

tpatt100

I need to start looking for a mentor for the path my career is taking me now. It seems the majority of auditors in my field are non technical CPA types but I keep seeing positions/getting calls for IT auditors which there doesn't seem to be very many out there.

xenodamus

I'd have to say this forum has been my primary source of mentoring. Outside of that, I've found that most coworkers are very willing to help you along if you're humble.

Showing humility and acknowledging the years of experience that others have usually makes them more willing to go out of their way for you.

Dakinggamer87

greg9891 wrote: »

In all honesty My mentor up to this point has been TECH EXAMS. This forum where we can all meet to give advice, vent frustrations, aspirations, study tips, resume help. Wouldn't have had the confidence to push into I.T. without you guys. The guys where I live don't believe in sending the elevator back down. there are some good ones but there out of my reach.

Always here to help buddy!!

olaHalo

Go to the salary history thread and you'll find lots of mentors.

gespenstern

This person was with me all the time because he always was and is myself. He took me pretty far and I'm very grateful to him, we've been having very good and fruitful relationship so far.

Pupil

The Internet is my primary mentor. There is so much good knowledge out there for the taking it and it is all free. Well-maintained blogs, articles, wikis, forum posts, Q/A sites, videos, books, etc. People are willing to help if you demonstrate effort on your part.

As for offline mentors, best place for me was in-person meetups, conferences, and networking events. Talk to people. Give and you'll get.

dustervoice

Never thought i needed a mentor.. i just try to be my best self.

Blackout

Great mentors are hard to find, a good one is invested in you, they want you to succeed and they will do everything in their power to make sure you do. My unofficial mentor is a CCIE at Cisco where I work, he pretty much took it upon himself to try and better my interview skills which are rock solid now. A good one you will truly be grateful to.