Ruby
Artisans and Apprentices
Summarized using AI
Artisans and Apprentices
by Coraline Ada EhmkeIn the talk "Artisans and Apprentices" delivered by Coraline Ada Ehmke at RailsConf 2014, the speaker explores the parallels between the medieval apprenticeship system and modern software development bootcamps. The presentation highlights both the promise and pitfalls of these contemporary training methods for developers, drawing lessons from history to inform current practices.
Key Points Discussed:
- Historical Context of Apprenticeships: Ehmke outlines the evolution of apprenticeships dating back to hunter-gatherer societies and their formalization in the 12th century Europe. She emphasizes how apprenticeships allowed for the transfer of specialized skills and knowledge across generations.
- Guilds and Their Role: Guilds emerged as protective associations for artisans, establishing standards, promoting quality, and limiting competition. While they provided structure, they also created technological conservatism and elitism, which can be mirrored in current bootcamp practices.
- Contemporary Bootcamps: Modern bootcamps have arisen as a response to the growing demand for developers, aiming to provide swift training to meet market needs. They offer intensive, short-term programs that can yield high job placement rates but often reflect biases in accessibility and inclusivity.
- Case Studies: Ehmke highlights the journeys of two individuals: Peter, a stonemason apprentice from the 12th century, and Ethan, a modern-day bootcamp student. Their experiences illustrate the challenges and barriers faced in their respective training environments, such as lack of innovation and support.
- Diversity and Inclusivity Issues: The speaker points out that both historical and modern training systems tend to cater to privileged populations, pointing out the underrepresentation of women and minorities in tech education today.
- Recommendations for Improvement: Ehmke suggests several ways to enhance apprenticeship models and bootcamp effectiveness, including:
- Increasing diversity and lowering financial barriers
- Encouraging mentorship and fostering long-term relationships
- Providing comprehensive support systems, including healthcare, to allow newcomers to thrive
- Emphasizing values-driven development and the importance of teaching empathy and community alongside technical skills.
- Increasing diversity and lowering financial barriers
Main Takeaways:
Ehmke calls for a re-examination of how we guide new generations of developers, urging the tech community to prioritize values and inclusivity to avoid replicating past mistakes. The emphasis on holistic development aims to cultivate an adaptable workforce that doesn’t merely replicate existing knowledge but innovates and supports diverse voices in the field. Ultimately, Ehmke concludes that we are at a critical juncture that mirrors past societal shifts, emphasizing the responsibility of current practitioners to guide and mentor the next generation thoughtfully and inclusively.
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For those who do not know me, can you please tell me your name on the count of three? One, two...
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Three! Damn, I'm never going to remember that.
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Um, before we get into the serious stuff, this is a jackalope. My understanding is that people were giving them out yesterday, and it followed us around.
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We had a Jackalope hashtag going for a little while. I will publicly thank on Twitter, or give a hug to anyone who can get me a Jackalope by the end of the day.
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So, no, not that one. That’s, uh, that's her. Petrus. So, um, this is not a Jackalope. This is me from last year.
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As we all know, there are three major problems in software development: naming things, off-by-one errors, and... I know that I was born to be a programmer because I got my name right and my chromosomes are off by one.
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Um, we also had some major problems in Tech in Chicago last year. There were no fewer than five Corys in the Ruby community, so I often heard, "Which Cory are you?"
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And we also have a problem with not enough women in technology. We heard a lot of, "Is that your girlfriend?" or, "You must be from marketing."
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So I decided to solve both of those problems this year because I'm an activist. I believe I can do what I can to bring more women into technology and also eliminate one of the Corys from the scene.
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So, um, this is me and IRB. Thank you. This is me and IRB. Notice there’s no create date; that's protected.
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If you're a front-end developer, this is me and JSON. I was going to render it in JavaScript, but I didn't know how many equal signs to use.
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And if we have any enterprise developers in the house, we have some XML here too.
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Okay, um, we're going to talk about some serious stuff today. I'm very passionate about learning and teaching, especially for people who are new to our field.
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Um, especially developers from underrepresented populations. In my work outside of work, I focus very heavily on people from the LGBT community and women.
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I've been a mentor at Dev Bootcamp, volunteered at Starter League, been a teacher's assistant at Girl Development classes, and taught inner-city kids an introduction to Ruby through a program called IC Stars.
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So, these experiences cemented for me how important it is that we be very deliberate and thoughtful about how and why we shepherd people into our profession.
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There are things we're doing really well, and there are things we're not doing very well at all.
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Um, we're definitely not close to solving the problem, but we're intrigued by it.
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Now, whenever we're in an interview situation, we say that we're interested in solving difficult problems. Let's prove it.
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There are lots of approaches to understanding the problem of onboarding and bringing new people in.
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The one we're going to talk about today is apprenticeships. I want to set some context; I want to talk to you about this unique period in history.
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An amazing time, a time of incredible change. The speed of progress is breathtaking.
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We're redefining ourselves, our culture, and our values. Boundaries are breaking down; we're increasingly international in our culture and thinking.
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Food is plentiful; the days of subsistence farming are far behind us.
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Jobs and populations are moving from rural areas to urban centers. International trade is booming.
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Population is growing, expected to double in the next 100 years.
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Market economies are outpacing traditional economies at an astonishing rate.
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At work, we're increasingly specializing; we're getting narrow but deep skill sets, and we're in high demand.
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Financiers from across the world are funding our ideas. There's massive expansion going on.
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We're radically redefining what business means.
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But we still have some problems we need to deal with. We have poverty; the line between rich and poor is huge.
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We have a vanishing middle class, and increasingly people are resorting to civil and religious organizations for social services.
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Younger generations are moving to the city, leaving their parents and grandparents behind, which undermines the family safety nets.
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Moreover, small government advocates are applying their conservative fiscal policies to social policies, further undermining these social networks.
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But it's not all dismal. These problems are very real, but we have incredible opportunities in front of us.
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Opportunities for success that were unimaginable two generations ago. The definition of what it means to be wealthy or successful is being redefined.
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The future is ours; it was ours until the Great Famine of 1315, followed by the arrival of the Black Death in 1348.
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So we're not the special snowflakes we thought we were. This is not a unique time in history; this is exactly what happened in the 10th through 12th centuries in Europe.
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So how did they react to changes in their culture, economy, and the demand for their workforce? That's what we're going to explore today.
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So, artisans and apprentices: creating a 21st-century workforce using 12th-century best practices.
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I want to begin by exploring how we teach young people in general. The earliest known form of society that humans formed is the hunter-gatherer society.
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It was prevalent across the world and actually still exists in many places today.
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Family and social groups were responsible for passing down survival skills and culture.
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Peter Gray talked extensively about this; he's a psychologist who studied hunter-gatherer societies to understand how children learn.
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We generally assume that boys learned hunting by going out with older men and that women learned to take care of the village by working with older women.
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What actually happens is that young people form parallel villages—villages within villages.
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They act out all the roles of the adults they observe around them, experimenting and trying new things.
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By the time they're ready to be adults, they have possibly innovated on the survival skills the tribe already had.
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There's a constant reexamination of what works and what doesn't work, which is crucial for transmitting information and culture.
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This also allows room for innovation. But as time went on, most hunter-gatherer societies transitioned into stationary communities.
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Originally organized around farming and later around trade, people began to specialize.
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The tools and technologies we used became more complex as parents could no longer teach their kids everything they needed to survive.
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Consequently, young people started being sent to specialists for training.
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The relationship between newcomers and established people ensured that critical expertise wouldn’t be lost between generations.
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Eventually, these relationships were formalized into apprenticeships.
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The earliest documented apprenticeships were established in the Code of Hammurabi, where it was mandated by law.
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As a craftsman, you were legally required to teach your craft to a finite number of young people.
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Apprenticeships continued to be practiced in Egypt for about a thousand years.
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Scribes and priests especially were sent to work with masters of those professions to learn everything they could.
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In the Han Dynasty in China, apprenticeships were passed down through generations.
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For example, if your parent was a doctor, one of the children would be selected to follow that path as well.
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People recommended that you not go to a doctor with less than three generations of medical practice in their family.
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The apprenticeships were crucial, as the master's reputation was on the line.
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Finally, in Rome, families were responsible for teaching basic morals and cultural values.
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But for professions, boys were sent to apprentices to learn their craft.
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By the time apprenticeships reached 12th century Europe, they were fairly established.
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By the 14th century in England, apprenticeships became a requirement to practice your trade.
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We cannot talk about apprenticeships in Europe without discussing guilds.
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Merchants were the first professionals to form guilds. The word 'guild' comes from 'gilden', a Saxon word meaning 'to pay'.
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This referred to the fees that merchants would pay for mutual protection, especially during their travels.
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Artisans soon followed suit; by the 12th century, fraternal orders of artisans had sprung up across Europe.
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Guilds aimed to establish standards, allowing only craftspeople with appropriate skill sets to practice and run their businesses.
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They promoted high-quality practices to create set expectations of quality for any given craftsman.
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This prevented people from going to other cities or towns, hiring craftspeople from outside rather than the locals.
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Essentially, guilds were about protecting vested interests—dividing markets, limiting competition.
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They ensured that any practitioner in a particular urban area was the sole practitioner of a given craft.
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So, they were essentially associations of employers that banded together to establish monopolies.
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However, they had some positive side effects that were accidents—not designed.
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To discuss the positives and negatives of the guild system, let’s explore the story of a couple of apprentices.
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The first one we're going to meet is Peter. Peter is from a rural area; his dad was a merchant.
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His parents wanted him to have a better life than he did; they wanted him to become a man of the cloth.
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They were aiming for the priesthood, but Peter was more interested in building churches than preaching.
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After a lot of wrangling with his parents, he finally talked them into signing him up for an apprenticeship with Theodore, a master stonemason.
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His parents had to sign an indenture agreement, which mandated that for two years, Peter would work for Theodore.
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In exchange, he could not leave, seek another master, or marry. In return, Theodore would provide food, shelter, clothing, and medical help.
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This was not just a teacher-student relationship; the master did his work, while the apprentice imitated it.
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Starting out with crude attempts, the apprentice gradually became better over many months.
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One day, Peter had an idea: he felt uncomfortable using the mallet he employed for stone-cutting tasks.
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He devised an improved design for this mallet and spent nights for about a week working on it.
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Very proud of his work, he went to show it to his master the next day. Unfortunately, his master was not happy at all.
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He beat Peter for innovating; Peter was supposed to learn the craft, imitate it, and perfect it—not innovate.
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So, this guild system, this apprenticeship system, tended to be very technologically conservative.
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The next winter, Peter fell ill and was unable to work. Theodore paid for a doctor to visit him and for the herbs needed to break his fever.
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Eventually, he returned to work as his last two years of indentureship came to an end.
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He was introduced to the Master's Guild, which sent him to another city to work under a different master as a journeyman.
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At a brief ceremony, there was a brief test, and Peter knew he was no longer an apprentice; he was now a journeyman.
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He spent the next few years traveling and working for various masters. At one city, he was honored with the task of building an archway for the prior.
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After completing it, he was very proud and asked his master to consider it a Masterwork.
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In this context, a Masterwork means that if a journeyman completes one and receives a master's recommendation, they wouldn't be tested by the local guild.
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Essentially, they would have a letter of passage that allowed them to practice their profession.
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However, the master declined the offer, leaving Peter very upset.
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He spent the next few years traveling from city to city, wherever the guild ordered him to go, working as directed.
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In time, Peter found out that his master Theodore was on his deathbed. He traveled home to say goodbye and comfort his master.
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In a parting gesture, his master recommended to the local guild that Peter be admitted as a master craftsman.
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As a master stonemason, he was able to take over his master’s operation, continue his business, and practice in the city near his home.
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In time, he had his own apprentices, and the legacy continued.
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Now, let's switch to modern day. This is Ethan Woodward, a kid from Indiana.
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His parents wanted him to go to school and become an MBA, but he wanted to get into software and have a startup.
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So, he dropped out of college, moved to Chicago, and got a job in tech support.
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He tried learning programming on his own, using online resources and books, but thought he needed something more structured.
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He heard about a boot camp starting in Chicago, applied, and unlike most applicants, he got accepted.
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For the next month, he read as much as he could and set up his computer for development.
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Finally, the boot camp started: he spent about 11 or 12 hours a day in class and another four to six hours with classmates working on special projects.
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He was learning new tools and techniques but didn’t have time to stop and ask why or what or how.
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Everything was very rote: you have to do this, next you have to do that, and then this.
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Weeks went by without a good night's sleep. He worked himself very hard and got sick.
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His instructors were accommodating but began to doubt his ability to keep up with the class.
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So, they arranged for him to join the next cohort. He formed strong bonds with the other students in his cohort.
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He also met several prominent developers from local companies who came in to give talks.
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When he finished the program, they had their job fair, and he got hired at a local startup for a decent salary.
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He was on a team with two other juniors and one mid-level developer.
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Because it was a startup, they were racing to the finish line constantly, trying to get the product out and build on new features.
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There wasn’t much time for him to train or work with the mid-level developer to learn new skills.
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He worked there for about a year, and then, of course, the startup went out of business.
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Eventually, he got hired at a larger, more established company. The team was much larger, the pressure lower, and the pace of work much lighter.
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However, there was no support at this organization for ongoing learning.
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He was really left to fend for himself. He eventually rose to become a mid-level developer and then a team lead.
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He was relatively satisfied with his career, but he grew tired of the long hours and lack of fulfillment.
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He became a project manager and left behind his dreams of building his business and being a developer.
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This was largely due to lack of support from his peers, community, and employer for ongoing growth and education.
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Apprenticeships today are not the same as they were in the 12th century, but there are definitely some strong similarities.
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The initial investment in becoming an apprentice; medieval apprentices were often children sent off to work with a master.
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However, families had to pay a very high fee to have their child taken on as an apprentice.
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Only upper middle-class or wealthy families could afford to pay this fee.
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Today, we find similar tuition fees that average $12,000 to $14,000 for software boot camps.
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When you were an apprentice in the 12th century, you did not have any free time; you were not allowed to socialize.
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Today, you could, but it's impractical because of the hours you have to invest in boot camp.
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In the 12th century, there was formal training provided. You knew your position in the hierarchy.
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You understood what you had to achieve to climb the ladder.
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In modern times, training is often informal; you're lucky if you get any on-the-job training.
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You're fortunate if you get a mentor willing to help you learn and grow.
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In the early stages of your apprenticeship at a boot camp, you had complete needs covered.
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In the 12th century, you had everything provided for: room, board, food, clothing, and medical care.
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Today, we don’t do that for newcomers entering our profession. Training often involves informal mentoring.
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A lot of boot camps try to match students with mentors, but maintaining long-term relationships is a challenge.
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A few years ago, I worked with a junior developer who expressed anger at the disparity in our titles.
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He asked, "Why am I just a junior developer while you're a senior developer? What's the difference?" I was stunned.
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I didn't know how to answer him, except to say I've been doing this longer and I have more experience.
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This highlights a problem: we lack clear distinctions between levels of experience and expertise.
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We guess what jobs we can apply for, trying for senior positions to see if they believe we're qualified.
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In the 12th century, there were clear hierarchies; you had well-defined goals to achieve.
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Let's talk about boot camps. Guilds provided formal systems for onboarding into careers.
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Today, we have colleges and boot camps responding to the increasing demand for development.
00:17:23.840
In 2002, there were an estimated 600,000 software development jobs; by 2012, there were over a million.
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The growth is projected to be 22% by the US government. As the half-life of technology shortens, universities struggle to adjust their curricula.
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As a result, students are often graduating without the skills necessary for their jobs.
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 27% of college graduates end up with a job related to their degree.
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As technology jobs become more lucrative, many are transitioning into software development.
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We see intensive boot camp programs springing up, both in the US and abroad.
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Costs average around $1,000 per week for 9 to 12 weeks, with some boot camps claiming over 80% placement rates.
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This is quite an improvement compared to the 27% university statistics.
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Boot camps have short cycles, allowing them to iterate on their curricula frequently.
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They adjust to new tools and technologies based on the local employers' needs.
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However, most boot camp students look like young 20-something white males.
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There are very few women and very few people of color entering boot camps. Some of this is due to costs and time investment.
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If you have family responsibilities, taking 12 to 16 hours a day for 12 weeks is impractical.
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FOR people supporting families, taking time off without pay is a challenge. Boot camps are selecting from a privileged class.
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Some boot camps have begun offering scholarships and women-only programs, but we’re not where we need to be.
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Payment methods vary; some boot camps accept payment only after candidates are hired, taking around 20% of annual salaries.
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Others refund parts of tuition upon job placement, and there are scholarship options.
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State regulators are beginning to scrutinize boot camps due to lack of standardization and success rate documentation.
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What happens if a student spends $12,000 and doesn't get a job? Is the boot camp liable?
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It's interesting to note that graduates tend to favor regulation of boot camps, wanting to preserve their reputation.
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Most boot camps resist regulation, believing it could slow them down, placing them alongside universities.
00:19:48.960
The dynamics of guilds and boot camps reveal that they both aim for establishing baseline standards.
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They address the minimum qualifications to perform in specific roles, responding to local employers' demands.
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Boot camps do not operate in a vacuum. They closely align with hiring organizations in their areas.
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They aim to transmit training information across generations, preserving field knowledge.
00:20:16.080
They want not just to meet demand but also to manage it, controlling the job market and applicant demographics.
00:20:22.920
Guilds and boot camps share problems of competition.
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In the guild system, if you were a stonemason, consumers had to choose between guilds; the same applies to boot camps.
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If you are an employer, which candidates do you trust? Which boot camps do you want to hire from?
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With no standardization, competition is inherent; both guilds and boot camps take a conservative approach.
00:20:51.760
While boot camps iterate on curricula frequently, they can be limited by the need to retrain staff.
00:20:58.960
They may tend to prioritize the lowest common denominator and most in-demand technologies.
00:21:07.440
In talking about privilege, we note that both guilds and boot camps draw from accessible populations.
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This is a significant concern; who can afford $1,000 a week and forgo earnings for 9 to 12 weeks?
00:21:21.560
It's not average or underprivileged people but largely those from wealthy families.
00:21:28.560
The social capital of shared norms, social enforcement, and communal experiences creates a strong network effect.
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Individuals who share the boot camp process may exclude those who did not share the same experiences.
00:21:42.000
This can lead to a monoculture, where members share similar backgrounds and hesitate to incorporate outsiders' ideas.
00:21:49.920
One of the most concerning aspects of a monoculture is the emergence of an oligarchy.
00:21:56.720
Oligarchies and monocultures create artificial distinctions among people, perpetuating the notion that mastery is achievable.
00:22:03.600
They assign people different standing within the developer class system.
00:22:10.240
The class system privileges senior community members, endowing them with significant power.
00:22:17.440
It insulates them from personal responsibility and amplifies their voices, making them difficult to challenge.
00:22:24.720
This power means that those who criticize the status quo can find their dissent muted.
00:22:31.000
What we need is to teach not just technical skills like JavaScript or Ruby.
00:22:37.440
We must also teach values-driven development, helping new people articulate their values.
00:22:44.200
Encourage authenticity and assure them that they don’t have to compromise their values for success.
00:22:50.640
Healthy communities thrive on dialogue. If everyone agrees, it's not a community; it’s an echo chamber.
00:22:57.920
Critics tend to be sidelined, yielding power to the status quo.
00:23:04.240
When you witness someone standing for values or expressing disappointment, favor and amplify their voice.
00:23:11.040
We must all hold our leaders accountable when they express discriminatory or offensive views.
00:23:18.720
No one is above scrutiny. Our most essential duty is to share values with new generations.
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Our community’s essence will erode unless we actively pass our values onto newcomers.
00:23:31.679
Your values are your most crucial legacy, not just your code.
00:23:39.040
How can we improve apprenticeships? We can establish best practices to help newcomers master necessary tools.
00:23:45.280
They should also understand why they use the tools, encouraging contributions back to the projects.
00:23:52.080
We should focus more on problem-solving rather than just specific technologies.
00:23:58.720
As experienced practitioners, we must be open to inquiries and new ideas from newcomers.
00:24:05.840
Lastly, we should establish clear success criteria so people know their importance and expectations.
00:24:12.960
Long-term mentoring relationships should guide individuals through their careers.
00:24:20.080
Now, how can we enhance boot camps? We can increase diversity by lowering financial barriers.
00:24:26.360
Providing flexible schedules and directly reaching out to underrepresented communities says, 'You're welcome here.'
00:24:32.760
Encouraging exploration, questioning the status quo, and supporting innovation, like children in hunter-gatherer societies.
00:24:38.960
Employers can provide sponsorship to students in boot camps; it benefits everyone.
00:24:46.120
Instead of social gatherings, how about sponsoring students going through boot camps?
00:24:52.200
Providing health care to those entering the profession is vital.
00:24:59.680
You cannot learn, grow, or work effectively while worrying about medical costs.
00:25:06.840
Finally, ongoing learning opportunities should be made available beyond job placements.
00:25:13.760
It's essential to support professionals in their continued growth.
00:25:20.800
Let's help each other maximize the potential of our exciting era of change.
00:25:27.520
Let's reach out to newcomers and offer our support.
00:25:34.080
We must create resources for learning, experimentation and growth.
00:25:41.760
Most importantly, let’s hold our leaders accountable as representatives of our values.
00:25:50.400
We hope to achieve values that we’ve carefully crafted and articulated.
00:25:57.080
Once more, we find ourselves in an exciting era—an era of great change. Let’s get it right this time.
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