Sometimes your own bugs are much harder to fix.
One thing that I noticed after all those years in the industry is that mastering the tech is only ...
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
Comparing yourself to other people's progress is the one for me. It can be silly to do it but it's helped me to stop being so critical. There was a colleague who was wicked smart, everyone said it and knew it. He made mistakes like wiping all our customers data. Lucky we recovered it and nothing was lost. That moment (and others) made me realize that no matter how good, knowledgeable, and clever I am, I'm still bound by human error. I'm not perfect and I have be proud that I'm smart enough to figure it out
Exactly. Sometimes we put people on pedestals, especially during our junior years.
Also loved that take :)
Everybody seems to get crazy with Impostor syndrome but if you look at different angle you will see that it is actually a good thing. From my experience, it pushes you towards learning new stuff and makes you more prepared to deal with everchanging industry where it's "learn or leave". So if you are trying to avoid this hard feeling – don't, it will fo away eventually and leave you with good knowledge base.
Yeah, I agree that that is a positive aspect to it.
However, I think it is more a matter of finding balance than welcoming it with open arms. It is good to be humble and be aware of all the thing that you don't know, but worrying too much about being an impostor can be a massive source of anxiety.
Is it weird that I've never ever had any of these doubts? Guess I'm just a more matter-of-fact and "it is what it is" person, I just do what I need to do in the best way possible and don't give it a lot of thought.
Which is not to say that I'm not aware that there's a thousand times more things that I DON'T know than things that I DO know - I simply tend to look more at the bright side, looking at the things I'm good at instead of the things I suck at.
I don't think that's weird. I'd say that it is uncommon but in a good way. I make an effort to stay pragmatic but sometimes those kinds of thoughts just pop in.
Loved the article! :)
I can share that the "help people" tip has been an eye-opener for me. People frequently advise about getting mentors and sponsors, but having a mentee is as important. At first, every time a coworker asked me a technical question, I was flooded with insecurities about my answers. But since they kept asking for my inputs, eventually, I realized that I might know what I'm doing after all!
In the end, we shouldn't be so hard on ourselves. Overcoming the Impostor Syndrome is an everyday process!
Thanks, Julia! It is a daily process indeed.
People say that you've only truly learned something when you are able to teach it well, and there is no better test this assumption than with a mentee. 🙂
About failure – can you provide some of your failure examples? I'm interested where Frontend engineer can fail nowadays. Your points are more likely related to business/startup as there is no such thing as failure at code – it can require more polishing or bug fixing.
Great question, here are my favorite failures:
So, yeah, those failures are not really code related. I guess that frontend engineer fails whenever an expected outcome isn't reached, maybe it is a new job, success in a side-project, or mastering a certain tool.
Thanks, Jordan! Comparing myself with others is what I struggle the most with as well. I agree that there is a strong link to ambition and wanting more from all the hard work we do every day.
That's a great way to approach the problem. Being insecure might make it a little harder to think like that but I like the straightforwardness!
I love "help people" as a way to keep imposter syndrome at bay. Thanks for sharing.
Glad I could help 😄
What a brilliant article this is! Thanks for taking the time to write it.
I will definitely find myself coming back to it.
Thanks for the feedback, Tomek! 😄
It warms my heart to know that some of my experience is useful to other people. That's what keeps me going.
Paladini, you're like a mirror. So relatable.
👁👄👁
Love the focus on learning how to learn and finding how you learn best, as a starting point. This is super insightful and reads like an empowering conversation. Great job!
That's the tone I try to follow! Thanks for noticing, your feedback made me really happy 😄😄😄