(1) As long as your goal is to aggressively learn and grow and understand, then your dignity is certifiable. (I'll even print you out a certificate if you ask!) So act as one aggressively interested in learning. If these guys are really that good/worth their salt, they will appreciate your eagerness to learn from them.
(2) This isn't uncommon. Our industry needs to have better professional training for juniors IMHO.
(3) No. I've found that the better someone is the more interested they are in teaching and bringing others up to the task. The guys with rotten attitudes tend to plateau and remain B+ players at best.
A couple words of advice:
* While you should always seek good mentors, it's imperative that you take your growth into your own hands. Read and practice as much as you can on your own. Read the book "Mastery" by George Leonard.
* Read the book Mindset. In the parlance of that book, rotten attitudes generally equate with the "fixed mindset" and those guys will plateau.
* Focus on your self. It may be the right decision to run away from these bitter jerks. But you may find that by focusing on your growth some of them may loosen up and help you grow. You can still learn from jerks, and as long as you stay growth mindset, you will surpass them over time. Patient focus and study! (If the environment however is truly toxic for you, then, yes, flee. If you flee, however, flee to an environment that is still challenging and has expertise that you can aggressively learn from.)
* Focus on your (future) self. Don't think "I'm an idiot now" (even us experts are missing a huge mountain of knowledge and understanding and are idiots ourselves). It's a gift to "see" what you don't know. Because now you can go work toward filling that gap.
(2) This isn't uncommon. Our industry needs to have better professional training for juniors IMHO.
(3) No. I've found that the better someone is the more interested they are in teaching and bringing others up to the task. The guys with rotten attitudes tend to plateau and remain B+ players at best.
A couple words of advice:
* While you should always seek good mentors, it's imperative that you take your growth into your own hands. Read and practice as much as you can on your own. Read the book "Mastery" by George Leonard.
* Read the book Mindset. In the parlance of that book, rotten attitudes generally equate with the "fixed mindset" and those guys will plateau.
* Focus on your self. It may be the right decision to run away from these bitter jerks. But you may find that by focusing on your growth some of them may loosen up and help you grow. You can still learn from jerks, and as long as you stay growth mindset, you will surpass them over time. Patient focus and study! (If the environment however is truly toxic for you, then, yes, flee. If you flee, however, flee to an environment that is still challenging and has expertise that you can aggressively learn from.)
* Focus on your (future) self. Don't think "I'm an idiot now" (even us experts are missing a huge mountain of knowledge and understanding and are idiots ourselves). It's a gift to "see" what you don't know. Because now you can go work toward filling that gap.
Hope this helps!
[edited. fixed typos and clarified advice]