Learning a trade means getting corrected all day by someone who’s better than you. That’s the fast lane.

Being corrected all day by somebody better than you is uncomfortable, and it is also the fastest route to improvement anyone has found. Each correction removes an error you would otherwise have practised into a habit, and it arrives within seconds rather than at the end of a term. The discomfort is not a sign the arrangement is going badly. It is the arrangement working.

Put yourself somewhere this week where a more skilled person can watch your work while you do it. Ask them what is wrong rather than whether it is good. Write down any correction that comes twice.