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Be competent. If you think you're incompetent, you're probably right. Comparative data analysis helps.
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C0D4669484ymaster a skill and do nothing else with your life.
Realistically though, you can't if your learning new things constantly. -
Assuming you don't actually suck.
Figure out one thing you want to get better at, not even say a framework, like just a thing... do that thing a bunch. Own that shit. -
ArtOfBBQ3784y@SortOfTested Disagree. Software engineers have the most weirdly impossible standards for themselves and other software engineers but at the same time somehow expect nothing at all from anyone else. I really think that's counterproductive and part of the reason why engineers get ran over/bullied by 'business people' who have the reverse attitude.
For myself I came from data science and trying to get better at coding and I'm really shocked by just how hard it is and how much there is to learn. I'm trying my best by studying and making apps but I still devolve into total spaghetti code every time. I measure my improvement by how long I can keep the pasta untangled.
I'm slow as hell and have tightly coupled unreadable god classes, don't understand design patterns or architecture at all., etc. I can still be proud that my code is quite fast and bug free. I certainly don't feel like an imposter because I never misrepresent my ability to anyone -
@ArtOfBBQ
I mean, I'm a software engineer and I've not seen that. Maybe it's just enterprisey types. -
People who think they’re competent or incompetent may or may not be right, it comes down to how well you can measure yourself. That’s it.
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It's hard for a lot of people to understand because they haven't had mental health problems. Most people are very uneducated about mental health unfortunately. I feel it's good for any person to have a decent understanding of pyschology topics even though it may not apply to them. You might start to even empathize with homeless people instead of thinking they are just "crazy" haha.
But as for imposter syndrome, the best way for me to handle it is to take a step back and make a distinction between your inner critic and your true self. It is very important to distinguish these voices at first, equally as it is to recognize that the critic is just the ego trying to avoid a potentially painful situation. So above all, I would say be always kind to your true self. You are always worth it, and your critic is not you :) -
ArtOfBBQ3784y@SortOfTested Really? I mean it's aways possible that I just have the wrong impression by coincidence it's not like I've worked at 100 corps and met 100k engineers
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I'm pretty much over the imposter syndrome I used to have. I have to collaborate with so many boneheads from other teams that I'm actually worried about going the opposite direction and developing a superiority complex.
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@SortOfTested It's definitely not just en enterprise phenomenon.
I've also come across a fair amount of competent SWEs/Devs who had an imposter syndrome (there a bunch of tweets on that).
And yes, some may be incompetent, but in today's society, many people have unrealistic expectations, some have low self-worth and others are prone to the Dunning-Kruger effect (a notable example of people who think they know very little in Software Engineering but are very knowledgeable). -
ars140644yI just accepted that I'm terrible and try bit by bit to become less bad. Takes plenty of time though.
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gibus4054yThroughout uni and my first job afterwards I made next to nothing, barely minimum wage. The next few jobs I applied for I was told over and over that I was overqualified, but I didn't think so.
Eventually my friend helped me into another position and to my horror day one I found out I had no one above me, and a lot was going to be resting on my shoulders. I could barely comprehend the money I had coming in.
I figured it would only be a matter of time before I messed up big time and lost the job so I figured might as well just play it out as the money was good.
After a few years of doing the complete opposite and saving my bosses ass over and over. I was sniped by a tech startup. They offered me significantly more than I asked because they wanted to pay me in line with what others at the company were earning.
I still feel like if I ever lost this role I wouldn't be able to find an employer to match the salary, but today I do consider myself an expert in my field. -
devJs13204yI had impostor syndrome on a more than few occasions before but then I stopped being jack of all trades and focused on one thing. Got good at it and then switched focus.
Asked for feedback to get better, learned a ton, got experience.
Saw that 'better' devs are less intimidating as I held constructive discussions with them and started to feel equal to them at some point.
How to overcome impostor syndrome? Get better at what you do until you feel comfortable with your level of knowledge and experience and it will go away.
I let mine go away almost 2 years ago. I don't think it will come back as I am now constantly learning at a faster pace.When you know more, you grasp things easier!
Also if you are noob, if you are writing code you are developer no doubt. Some of us are lower and some of us are higher on the ladder, but we are on the same ladder nevertheless. -
Fail.
You need to fail at something to overcome imposter syndrome. It's a side effect of having exceedingly high standards for yourself that most others do not share.
So fail at something. Find something you're bad at, and learn to be okay with it.
How to get rid off impostor syndrome ?
By itself, the word "impostor" indicates that this is not an objective assessment, but an inner feeling - how we feel, perceive. A person with an impostor syndrome believes that he has deceived everyone, embellishing his dignity, but in fact he is not worth the money he receives, he is here by chance and in general - there are others, better and more competent...
Share your experience about that.
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