I gotta drop some dad-wisdom here, because I used to dwell on imposter syndrome. Look, I'd tell you gotta stop worrying about what other people think of you and focus on the trials ahead with confidence in yourself... but it took me some staring-in-the-mirror-after-eating-a-pot-brownie levels of introspection to realize why that advice doesn't help. I was pained to admit I wanted people to say that to me. My imposter syndrome was narcissism, undermined by insecurity or not. By publicly proclaiming my abilities were lower than they appeared, I would lower the expectations of others, prompting encouragement and protecting my image if I failed, while inflating the impact of my performance when I succeeded. Everyone experiences the undercurrent of an imposter occasionally, sometimes rightfully deserved and others not. Maybe you're not like this in real life, new to the field, or this is post is intended to be a bit humorous. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. If you do find yourself overtly focused on thoughts of imposter syndrome it's time to ask yourself why, without being afraid of some hard truths in the answer. I'd tell you you're a perfectly competent dev, but you already know you are. People have told you that a hundred times and you can see proof of it every time you sit down to work. Just relax, and enjoy the ride. Life is too short and precious to be dishonest with yourself. ;P
It's okay! both serious and humorous comments fit in this thread!
I do agree that a lot of developers (including myself) have a tendency to understate their competency to play it safe. It hurts more to disappoint someone, and it's just "easier" to impress someone by lowering their expectations.
However, understating your own competence can be bad because it can lead to being lowballed in negotiations.
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I gotta drop some dad-wisdom here, because I used to dwell on imposter syndrome. Look, I'd tell you gotta stop worrying about what other people think of you and focus on the trials ahead with confidence in yourself... but it took me some staring-in-the-mirror-after-eating-a-pot-brownie levels of introspection to realize why that advice doesn't help. I was pained to admit I wanted people to say that to me. My imposter syndrome was narcissism, undermined by insecurity or not. By publicly proclaiming my abilities were lower than they appeared, I would lower the expectations of others, prompting encouragement and protecting my image if I failed, while inflating the impact of my performance when I succeeded. Everyone experiences the undercurrent of an imposter occasionally, sometimes rightfully deserved and others not. Maybe you're not like this in real life, new to the field, or this is post is intended to be a bit humorous. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. If you do find yourself overtly focused on thoughts of imposter syndrome it's time to ask yourself why, without being afraid of some hard truths in the answer. I'd tell you you're a perfectly competent dev, but you already know you are. People have told you that a hundred times and you can see proof of it every time you sit down to work. Just relax, and enjoy the ride. Life is too short and precious to be dishonest with yourself. ;P
It's okay! both serious and humorous comments fit in this thread!
I do agree that a lot of developers (including myself) have a tendency to understate their competency to play it safe. It hurts more to disappoint someone, and it's just "easier" to impress someone by lowering their expectations.
However, understating your own competence can be bad because it can lead to being lowballed in negotiations.