>Maybe a guild is a bit too stuffy, but being
mentored by someone
>with their head screwed on straight, and consequently making a
>point to seek out excellent examples of the programming art and
>learn from them had a profound effect on my skill as a programmer
>and my career.
Mine, too. In grad school in 1976 I learned Computer Science, not the
art of Software Engineering. The latter I learned from my project
leaders and supervisors at my first job at DEC.
-Paul W.