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Exploring the Mentorship Challenges Faced by IT Engineers in 2026

In April 2026, Kikkake Creation conducted a comprehensive survey among 300 IT engineers aged 25 to 39 to explore the state of mentorship within the industry. The findings reveal some striking insights: approximately 81.4% of these engineers expressed that they feel burdened by the task of mentoring junior staff, a sentiment that underscores a significant challenge faced by the industry today.

Burden of Mentorship

The survey results showed that 28.7% of participants feel "very burdened" by mentoring tasks, while an additional 52.7% feel "somewhat burdened." When asked about the reasons behind this sentiment, nearly half (48.0%) cited that the effort they put into mentoring does not reflect in their performance evaluations or salary increments. Moreover, 45.1% reported difficulty in finding time to mentor while managing their regular work duties.

The persistent theme of feeling undervalued was echoed by 75.3% of respondents, who reported having things they wished they could communicate to their juniors but refrained from doing so. This reveals a gap in communication and support that can lead to frustration and disillusionment among more experienced team members.

Key Messages to Juniors

When asked about the key messages they wished to convey to their mentees, 52.2% expressed a desire for their juniors to arrive at meetings with their own hypotheses rather than relying solely on direct answers. Additionally, 39.8% wanted juniors to take notes and refrain from asking the same questions repeatedly. This indicates a desire for more proactive and engaged learning from the junior engineers.

The survey also revealed that only 39.3% of respondents actively choose one-on-one meetings or reviews when providing feedback, indicating an area for potential improvement in mentorship delivery. Furthermore, 'helping juniors develop their own critical thinking skills' topped the list of challenges that 43.7% of the respondents faced.

Company Support and Evaluation

Moreover, when questioned about company support, a concerning 32.3% of engineers expressed that they felt the support and appraisal for their mentoring work were inadequate. Commonly cited reasons for this dissatisfaction included the absence of a clear training curriculum (48.5%) and the failure to officially recognize mentoring hours as part of their workload (46.4%).

However, positive notes emerged from the survey as well; an impressive 79.4% of participants believe that mentoring experience contributes significantly to their personal growth as engineers. This duality of feeling burdened yet also gaining greatly from mentoring insight suggests that support structures could be restructured to enhance both the motivation of senior engineers and the development of junior staff.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this survey illuminates the complexities of the mentorship experience in the IT sector. The pressure of feeling unrecognized for their teaching efforts and the struggle to foster a culture of proactive learning intersect with the personal growth many engineers derive from these mentoring experiences. Addressing the support and structure surrounding mentorship could enhance the quality of guidance provided to new engineers and ultimately improve workforce morale and productivity. Efforts should be directed towards creating recognition frameworks that value mentorship as a crucial element of career development. As companies move forward in nurturing engineering talent, developing more robust training programs and acknowledging the effort of mentors will be pivotal for growth and innovation in the industry.