Ask HN: How to find mentors while working remote?
4 basketbla 3 7/14/2025, 3:11:25 PM
So far in every internship and job that I've had, there's been a more senior engineer whose brain I can pick. Just curious if anyone here has suggestions for finding similar opportunities outside of a job?
For context: I graduated college 2 years ago and have been working at a remote startup since. Now I'm going out on my own to focus a little more on some of the side projects I've been working on, but even a week in I'm starting to feel the strain of working on something solo.
Location has also been a little bit of an issue for me. I was in the bay area for college and found it much easier to find events / people to learn from. I moved to the the twin cities after graduating and haven't really been able to find the same community here.
Any advice is appreciated!
> Hey, I'm working on feature A that needs X, Y, Z solutions. I see you worked on something similar, I'm trying to figure out the right way forward. Can I bounce some ideas off you?
Works with people without the experience
> Hey I'm working thru a problem and having trouble coming to a solution, any chance I could bounce some ideas off you?
Basically I've never had a "mentor" and I just ask people questions
> working at a remote startup since
This was my first job too. The upside was the freedom to explore on my own. The downside was lack of experienced coworkers. So I quit after a few years to get more of those.
AI is also decent at answering these kinds of questions, but less rewarding since it's not a human you can chat with
Maintaining your professional network requires work.
In your case, your past mentors are a place to start that work.
It is important to demonstrate a maturity and attitude that makes it make sense for a mentor to invest the time in the mentoring relationship.
Good luck.