In a recent job working with Java and Spring Boot, I found myself second-guessing many of my decisions. Sometimes I would say, “I’m following the project’s patterns.” Other times I realized I didn’t fully master some libraries, specific approaches, or certain uses of annotations. My tech lead had far more experience with that stack than I had. Inevitably, I compared my knowledge level to his. Still, there were several moments when I proposed improvements and delivered solutions that made development and maintenance easier.
I worked at that company for almost two years and made several meaningful contributions to the same project. I helped introduce coding patterns that improved the development experience, and I also worked as a full-stack developer on multiple initiatives, including one of the most relevant projects: a chatbot where a colleague and I developed the frontend together. During my time there, I worked on backend systems using Java, TypeScript, Stencil, and other related technologies. I also helped plan and establish a migration process for legacy Java projects, updating framework versions and addressing security issues in outdated dependencies.
Even so, a nagging feeling crept in:
“Am I way below what they expected? Am I really that bad?”
That inner voice was the classic Impostor Syndrome.
It had been more than four years since I last worked with Java and Spring Boot. During that time I adapted to the technologies each company used. That constant adaptation has a price: you drift away from certain stacks and lose depth in them.
Here’s the lesson I took from that experience — simple yet powerful:
Relearning and refreshing your skills is essential. Even if you already have experience, continuous learning is what keeps you confident and relevant. Impostor Syndrome may show up, but it can also be a sign of humility and awareness that there is always room for growth.
In the end, what matters most is this: keep learning, keep contributing, and allow yourself to evolve.
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