Free mentoring platforms for developers and designers

#career #mentorship #codenewbie #womenintech

As a career changer, I have spent a lot of time googling my way through coding resources. And if you are part of the DEV community, you probably have too. There are loads of articles on how to learn to code, and sites like Hackr and Bento make it easy to find resources based on topics and tools.

But what about mentoring? If there is one thing I wish I had had at the start of my developer journey, it would have been a mentor. But finding one is actually not an easy task, especially if you come from a different field. That's why I have compiled a list of free mentorship platforms for developers and designers – to make it easier for others to find one when they need it.

List of Free Mentoring Platforms

Merit - a coaching platform with automatic scheduling. You can filter coaches based on fields of expertise or themed playlists (e.g. launching side projects, dealing with imposter syndrome). When you first log in they offer you a list of recommendations based on your needs. It's quite US and Canada-focused, but hopefully that will change over time.
Coding Coach - a platform that provides you with the contact details of coaches. You can filter based on name, country, language, and technology. It also has an active slack channel.
ADPList - a mentoring platform for designers. You can filter mentors based on country, languages and expertise (e.g. AR/VR Design, UX Design, Design Writing). According to their website, there are over 1000 registered mentors from around the world.
Designed - a platform primarily for designers that provides you with the contact details of mentors. You can filter based on topics or tools, location, time zone, language, and gender. It also has an active slack channel.
Re-create - a mentoring platform for creatives. You can filter mentors based on role and country. You have to submit a mentor request through the website. It asks you for the length of the session (3, 6, 9, or 12 months), your reason for wanting to work with a particular mentor, and an example of your work. Due to high demand, you can only submit one request per day.
Office Hours - a mentoring website for designers. There are only a handful of mentors so far, and they all seem to be based in the US. But you can book a meeting directly via Calendly, or reach them on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Mentoring.Design - a mentoring platform for designers in Berlin. They are not currently accepting new mentees, but it might be worth keeping an eye on if you're interested.
Mentor Cruise - general mentoring platform that includes both paid and free mentorship. You can browse mentors based on name, tags, skills, main focus, services, price and availability.
She Says - a mentorship scheme for women in the UK creative industry.
Ambitious Ladies in Tech - a mentoring programme for women working at tech startups in London with less than 3 years of experience. The minimum commitment is 12 months.
Built By Girls - a mentorship programme for female and non-binary students between the age of 15-22. They are US-based, but also offer remote mentoring.

Other helpful websites

Exercism - a platform for coding challenges that offers reviews by mentors.
Frontend Mentor - a website with frontend challenges. Once you submit your solution, you can receive feedback from other developers in the community. It also has an active slack channel.
Elpha - a social and professional network for women in tech. It's a great platform for sharing and exchanging experiences, and CEOs and CTOs regularly offer office hours for any questions you might have.

I hope that was helpful. Feel free to message me if there are any great mentorship platforms or programmes that I've missed.

And if you are looking for other online mentoring platforms (tech and non-tech, free and paid), take a look at this list from Growth Mentor.

_{Cover image by Christin Hume on Unsplash}