Man people look at the idea of a mentorship as very dated. They think of 10-year-old apprentices following a silversmith around and learning how to take over the company at some point. But today, having a mentor can mean so much more. Here are three great reasons to find one:

You can see how they live:
Having a mentor who works in an industry you hope to work in can show you not only what their job is like, but what every other aspect of life might be like if you have that job. You’ll observe how it affects there personal relationships, their family ties, their friendships. You’ll observe what toll it takes on their health. How much free time they get. How much anxiety they experience. How much creative space they get or how much they have to follow someone else’s commands. Essentially, you can see what quality of life is in that profession. Remember, your job is something you’ll probably be doing 40 to 60 hours a week. It is a big part of your life. You want to feel certain that you like what it is like.

You can make connections:
A lot of people feel guilty about this. They wonder: is it correct of me to take a job that my mentor hooks me up with? Or should I be “roughing it” out there on my own like everyone else? There is nothing wrong with letting your mentor help you find a job. Look—they’re not going to refer you to someone if they don’t think you’ll do a good job. Not to mention, give yourself a little credit: just the fact that you decided to find a mentor and dedicate time out of your day to watch them and learn from them shows how dedicated you are to that line of work. Essentially, the person looking to employ someone can hire a random person who comes with no references (or at best, unreliable ones) off the internet, or they can hire you, who already has a very reputable reference vouching for you. This is especially important in the entertainment industry. Say for example you want to become a singing instructor (one of the most difficult places to get into that industry). Teaching all the free singing lessons you can won’t get you clients. But, if you know another teacher who is big in the industry and knows your work is high quality, he will refer you.

You can learn the lingo ahead of time
So many people go into a job after studying it in school thinking they are ready only to find out there is so much they don’t know about that job. There is all sorts of jargon, protocol, unspoken rules and tricks that you only learn through experience. If you observe and follow around a mentor in the business, you get to look like a pro once you finally actually take a job in that industry, without ever having had to look like a fool. You begin knowing almost all there is to know. Whereas, someone who didn’t take a mentor, has to learn so much based off of mistakes they make. That’s not the worst thing. Most likely their bosses understand they are rookies and anticipate those mistakes. But you look a lot better if you don’t make them.