I've been a programmer for years now. I've slowly been getting promotions and I'm a senior developer at a large company.

to anyone I look as if I am an extremely good programmer however I constantly feel out of place. I feel like I am way worse at coding than my co-workers and people underneath me but I keep getting complimented on it.

I feel like a fake.

does anyone else feel this?

Does your work give you the occasion to shine?

Maybe you have the "impostor syndrome"...despite external evidence of their competence, those exhibiting the syndrome remain convinced that they are frauds and do not deserve the success they have achieved... - wikipedia

@master lol that doesn't apply to me :P cuz I'm awesome

The fact that you recognise that you don't feel superior, actually makes you more of a senior developer. My hunch is you are doing just fine. Relax.

See if you can help with phone screens or the interview process in general. I've met some extraordinary, talented individuals, but I've also met just as many that have given my ego a good boost. I no longer suffer from the imposter syndrome.

Welcome to devRant! You are probably quite valuable to your company and better than you realize. A series of promotions to senior dev is impressive.

What makes you feel the way you do? Do you have an example?

I read that as 'Senior Developer at large' ...sounds ominous :/

A healthy dose of self criticism never hurt anyone. It means you're not resting on your past successes but still looking for ways to improve. So I would consider it a good thing. It should keep you on your toes, but not up all night worrying, so to speak.

Get a grip, if that's all that worries you on a daily basis you are one hell of a lucky bastard.

I'm in the same boat. Successfully programming and leading teams for years while wondering if anyone could tell I was always winging it. I'm mostly self taught. MIS degree without the CS put me at a disadvantage I've only fully recognized in the last few years. I ran across "The Imposter's Handbook" by Rob Conroy the other day, and I'm really enjoying it. It is a consolidated intro to all the things you don't know you didn't know about programming. It might be worth checking out. You are not alone.

(I am not affiliated in any way with the book or Rob Conroy.)

You will intermittently feel like that for the rest of your life.

The curse of a programmer is to teeter on the edge of superbeing and charlatan.

You will see a new technology or a new problem and have a panic attack, 'I can't do that! I don't even know where to begin. They'll find out I'm A Freud and fire me... ' then you will learn it. And all of a sudden it is boring and easy. You are a god shaping the world to your design... But then... 'New technology? That looks way harder I don't even know where to begin....'

It's pretty common amongst programmers. Imposter syndrome they tend to call it. I've felt it more often than not, but have always bounced back. In fact, I felt it the worst I ever had just a few weeks ago. Thought to myself, man, they're going to fire me soon. It's tough, but it helps to find others around you who have gotten through the same stuff. I usually bounce out of it because I've had this lucky streak with PMs who value me and my work.

been mostly working alone since Im not in a big business so i cannot reall cooperate much and the most work is going through uncommented and i have no idea what i should do to improve it. maybe if people could just tell me if somethings wrong i would feel more secure in my work

I regularly contribute over in codereview.stackexchange.com a great place to get guidance on how to improve design, architecture and style. As for the actual code correctness that is what stackoverflow is for.

@yepster I think it high time you switch or transform yourself into a System Analyst and Designer...... since your senior