[kevsamuel]

I've always wondered why I had a hard time finding a good mentor.

Now that I'm competent and experienced, I get it: I have no time to mentor people.

[BossingAround]

Pretty much. And people I did mentor wandered off after like 2-3 sessions (into which I put a ton of time), or they got a lot better during a project we worked on together, went off to do other projects, and a year later, I was correcting the exact same mistakes.

As a mentor, you have to be really selective about your mentees (unless it's part of your job of course).

[sanderjd]

I can do it during work hours, but not really outside that. Or I dunno, maybe young people wouldn't mind doing mentoring sessions after 8:30pm and that would be a more enriching way for me to unwind than zoning out with an ever-diminishing number of interesting TV shows?

[ir123]

i find this whole mentor thing bit silly, why would some one want to mentor me for free?

[brianpan]

As a person who has mentored people and is currently a mentor, I can name a number of reasons-

* to contribute to my company/community * to make myself a multiplier (I can do work or I can help 5 junior engineers be a little better at their work) * to learn myself (a great way to learn is by teaching) * to grow my breadth of knowledge (I hear about what other people are doing) * to grow my network * to improve my leadership/managerial skills * because people have invested time and mentorship in me

[bojan]

It's not really for free. There is a social expectation that you'll pay it forward by mentoring someone else in the future.

Also, the mentor gets a competent colleague who can meaningfully contribute in return for their time.

[AussieWog93]

Why wouldn't you want to mentor someone for free? Passing down experience/wisdom to the next generation is rewarding in and of itself.

[volkandkaya]

I want to see cool ideas being built, I don't have time to build them all. Helping new founders is a way to do it.

[clnq]

Not all that seems free is free. Mentoring your team members, for example, results in better performance, more income, and larger TC eventually.

[goodbyesf]

Exactly. The guy makes it sound like good mentors ( which he strangely calls 'personal teachers' ) are hanging around every street corner waiting for someone to procure their services.

It's strange to see the obvious so heavily upvoted. Really? Nobody knew that a good mentor is worth his weight in gold?