http://www.perlmonks.org?node_id=948043


in reply to In Need of Mentoring

So where do I go to get mentoring on my coding and programming style? I'm not looking for tutoring. I'm willing to pick up manuals and do that on my own. I simply want a code review, or a few hints. This isn't so much as How do I do such and such?, but whether I'm doing it correctly.

I always thought PerlMongers would be a great place to go and have some face to face code reviews, mentoring etc. I think each location runs their's a little differently. Our local chapter (New York City) keeps it to social events (aka: drinking) and lightning talks. It still might be worth a try and definitely a good way to meet other Perl programmers. :)


"...the adversities born of well-placed thoughts should be considered mercies rather than misfortunes." — Don Quixote

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Re^2: In Need of Mentoring
by qazwart (Scribe) on Jan 16, 2012 at 02:45 UTC

    My current job is in Morristown NJ...

    So near, yet so far...

    There's a group in Princeton, but I don't think they're very active. The calendar on their webpage dates from 2005.

      There seems to be a new one in Atlantic City (http://atlanticcity.pm.org/). That may also be a bit too far for you. Some of these groups are changing their online presence like the NYC group which is now centralized on Meetup.com You can try that site and see if there are some local Perl Groups in Central Jersey.

      "...the adversities born of well-placed thoughts should be considered mercies rather than misfortunes." — Don Quixote
      You're right about the Princeton group: it's dead. We had a couple of starts, but never got going regularly.

      I know there are active Perl programmers in NJ. Up until a few months ago, I worked with a handful of them, in Middlesex county (about 1/2 hr from Morristown). I know some who live in NJ and work NY city, too. I think the tough thing is finding people who are interested enough in taking time out of their schedules at night to get together and talk about Perl. So many of the Perl people that I've had in-person relationships with have moved to other primary languages, and though they still use Perl they are not passionate about keeping up with it. I myself am not doing hands-on development at my job anymore, but Perl is still my most familiar and reliable language when I do need to get something done.

      I just moved up to North Jersey, I'm about 15 minutes NW of Morristown now, and I've started looking out for any kind of local programming or development meetups. There are a ton in and near NYC, but I haven't seen much around here. I'm toying with trying to start one. If you start one first, I'll join it :) ... I don't know if you do web development, but there's an active OWASP chapter in Bridgewater. I've been to a couple of their meetings before, and found them very interesting.

      Something I came across today, which is both relevant to your situation (wanting to surround yourselves with great people to learn from), and geographically relevant: http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html -- it's long, but I found it very inspiring.

      I was lucky enough to be a full-time Perl developer for many years. It was my first programming job, and I had no good Perl mentors when I started. I really have to credit this site for my success and growth as a developer. There was such a great community here, and the ratio of real interesting discussions vs. name-calling and infighting was lower than I've ever seen anywhere on the internet before or since. We grew to a pretty big team of Perl people at my company, which was great to have in-person, but I guess what I'm saying is don't discount the online community.