Why Do So Many Software Developers Have Imposter Syndrome?
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- čas přidán 24. 07. 2024
- In this video, I’m going to talk about imposter syndrome. What it is, why so many software developers have it, including me, and how I’ve learned to deal with it.
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🔖 Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:54 What is imposter syndrome?
2:46 Why is imposter syndrome so common among software developers?
4:59 #1 Use yourself as a yardstick, not others
6:45 #2 View everything you do as a learning process
7:47 #3 Remove emotion
9:23 Outro
#arjancodes #softwaredesign #python
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Your point about impostor syndrome increasing with knowledge reminds me of the Dunning-Kruger effect, where the smarter someone is, the more likely they are to underestimate their abilities. I guess growing expertise can lead to more self-doubt… it’s important to ignore that! On the flip side, some humility is good, though, as it helps avoid coming across as cocky.
There definitely needs to be a balance!
The single best method I have for overcoming impostor syndrome is just focusing on what needs to be done. Discover a problem. Break the problem into solvable steps. If a step you're unclear about the approach, ask for advice. Execute the steps. Execution doesnt need to be perfect because no company wants perfection, they want completion. You cant be a impostor if you know how to solve problems
Nice video.
The best thing I do to overcome imposter syndrom is to talk to a good colleague, friend or partner about it. It helps setting into perspective when hearing one's thoughts out loud. 😂
Great video! Very important topic. I had a really hard time a while ago when I switched jobs, had imposter syndrome and on top of that, some devs of my team thought I wasn't a real developer. I stuck with it in the end and accepted the fact that I did have quite a bit to learn. Fast forward 10 months later of working hard: management offered a permanent contract and I was doing great, had a great time skills-wise and fun-wise. Looking back, I can't believe I almost gave up on developing as a career altogether.
Yes, we all have felt like we may be stretching ourselves a little too much and that the confidence people have in us may not be warranted.
But, after much introspective over the years I realized that this is an indicator of:
* I care about the quality of my work and my customer's and teammate's perception of my work
* humility - it is really important to maintain a "healthy" level of humility in order to make sure you are taking advantage of all the creative ideas from the people around you - even from your clients!
Of course, all of the forces - including the ones you mentioned - need to be balanced. And that, in and of itself, is a learned skill; a difficult gut-wrenching at times process to acquire that skill.
But it is so worth it. I remember the first time I was thanked for solving a problem in software that was causing productivity issues for someone. The look in their eyes, the amount of gratitude and appreciation I saw - that is the motivating reason behind why I continued to work so hard throughout my career.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! For having the courage to address topics like this. It is super hard to get started in this career path.
And this is one of the reasons why some people (not just developers) give up on themselves too soon.
Appreciate you sharing this with us. I think more of this, being vulnerable and letting your followers know the challenges you face .. we face .. is helpful in letting us all know we aren't alone. Thank you.
That's fine Arjan but I'm a proper fraud.😂😂😂
Don't underestimate yourself! 💪
@@ArjanCodes Thank you. This is a great video.
@@ArjanCodes Thank you very much, I really needed these words today. I was believing I was a failure as a developer.
In my most previous role, I felt like a total impostor. I was hired for a Principal Software Engineer role, and despite being completely up front about my skills and experience, I often felt in over my head. It created a lot of anxiety. I contributed a lot, but the hustle culture was too much. I did my absolute best, and contributed a lot in some ways and not enough in others - according to bosses and whiny, tattle-tale-ing co-workers. Sometimes there's no escaping it - probably best to start some soul searching and throw yourself into your career and learning more, or finding a better fit. I chose the latter (I am 48 after all). It was the best thing that happened to me in YEARS.
Thank you for telling your story sharing your experiences assuring others (me) with similar thoughts are not alone
The best lessons I’ve learned in life was during or after failure in something. But as a society failure is seen as a bad thing, so a subtle but powerful misunderstanding happens: you should never fail. And that is just wrong.
At least for me seeing failure in a different light help me to manage the imposter in me 😊
Thanks, great video.! 💪🏽
Hey, thanks. I appreciate the perspective you brought to the issue of feeling like an imposter. I'm in my 50s and I restarted working as a software developer after 20 years not doing software and I felt such a huge gap between me and the young guys I worked with. Being able to talk with them about it informally helped a lot. We would shoot the shit before our morning standup and often we'd share the same feelings about having zero clue about the new project and how it was a huge relief to learn everyone was as confused as everyone else. After a while we thought to start an "Imposters Club" - we never really started it but it was a good joke to ease tension.
Thanks a ton for this video, Arjan! After a tough week, the imposter syndrome has been wreaking havoc on the old brain. It's always refreshing to see/hear some simple advice that helps one step back, recalibrate a little, take a deep breath, and jump back in.
Glad to hear the video had a positive impact on you! You got this!
Excellent video, maybe the best one!
I don’t think I have much of that any more. But I’m really happy to see you brought up this topic as I used to that as well. I that I think about it I probably stopped thinking about this soon after I started to understand how I should focus on what needs to be done and to live in the moment. Just a couple months ago I started teaching my wife programming and she found it quite difficult as her homework requires her to go beyond what’s taught in the lecture. I think that’s the moment I started to realize why imposter syndrome is so common among programmers. The field is so vast and has the fastest changing pace of all topics. The more you know the more you realize how ignorant you are. Computer Science and Software engineering are truly fantastic!
*Cheers*! Always good to hear when other's journey was fraught with similar worries and concerns!
Glad you liked it!
Thanks. I diagnosed my big issue today. This video will be a move forward for me. 💌
Glad the video was helpful!
One thing that even I can’t take away from myself is that I love learning and I love teaching and helping others with their growth journey. I know I don’t know everything, and my code feels really sloppy sometimes, but I will learn and get better in the process.
Oh man i was not expecting this video to drop. Thank you arjan, as a developer i totally resonate with you. I recently joined as an intern and i was totally drown feeling like imposter. You said very accurate that its important to see that feeling of discomfort as learning opportunity else that will sabotage our confidence. Comparison is a thief of joy. Thanks again for addressing this. I am sure so many people really wanted this video. ❤
Thanks for sharing - glad to hear you enjoyed the video!
I really have to thank you. You are a good man
Thank you for making this video, Arjan.
You're welcome - happy you liked it 😎.
Really good video, I have been always struggling with it, since around me there are a lot of knowledgable people. Hope you make similar soft-skills oriented videos in the future
Glad you enjoyed this type of video!
Arjan ... bedankt for this, IM about to start a new job and nervous tbh .. needed the pep talk
You got this Kamilo!
Thx for sharing! 😊
Thank you for your support! ❤️
I agree that it's about work and the journey.
My teams first data science/NLP project was doomed to not give good predictions from the beginning, since the data set lack on quantity and quality.
Still we continued on and we learned so much about related topics and answered foundational questions that lead us to newer use cases that, when we changed the scope of our project and mined a way larger and higher quality data set, and now our current model is having an good performance and all within our expectations.
All the past failures had me thinking that I wasn't good enough for the task. But now we created a new business unit where the products we are developing have at heart our models.
Thank you Arjan
Happy Birthday Arjan! Believe me, You are young ^ ^. Best regards from Austria.
Thank you so much 😀
Very good video!
We all get this, thank you!
I started out as a Junior Dev one year ago, yet I just happen to be hands on in so much stuff that they just started calling me a Software Engineer
I really needed this video, it will help me a lot figuring this out
Glad to hear the video is helpful to you. Good luck!
I get it mostly when needing to learn yet another new tech, while I haven't mastered the other ones yet. I really want to learn the ins and outs of every new thing I touch, but there's just no time enough. And coming from an art background I feel I should know everything about Art, 2D/3D DCC's, AR/VR, code, api's and lately web frameworks. And now Unreal Engine knowlegde is in high demand, so we chase that too. I think I don't necessarily feel the imposter syndrom with the points in the video, but more at how much I can retain the information in my head without the need to lookup a lot, maybe I'm putting my own yardstick up to high...
I know the feeling. I know it very well. I no longer get it, though, after watching a video by the Primeagen where he talks about it. I don't recall the details but I just never felt it again afterwards.
Thanks Arjan l, this was an important topic, do you have any tips on managing your time better? And avoid procrastination as a software developer?
YOU'RE MY HERO!!!
Only kidding, good video - Have suffered with this for a long while, and you can let it run away and send you down very dark paths. For those that suffer with this it's good to recognise there has been research done around this, and if you're suffering imposter syndrome you're actually more likely to be a very high performer and it also shows you care which is positive :)
Thanks
Good video ❤
And i am always afraid and feel that i am not good enough to be a software developer but i am making progress no Matter how slow
That’s the way to go!
@@ArjanCodes Yeah thanks again and i learned alot with you 🤝🔥
The nice thing about programming is we have git. We can easily see where we started and how far we've come. Sometimes you just need to take a step back and see how much you've learned
"Embrace your impostor syndrome" I always say. Fearing it can lead to massive over-compensation... (And the people who over-compensate don't do so well)... Just accept "a lot of the time I'm guessing" and "I sometimes don't know what I'm talking about" tell it to other people "I'm only guessing here... but....", "I don't really know what I'm talking about, so fell free to contradict".
Some guy on the internet was once talking about Buddhism and he mentioned one of their "slogans" which is so true: "Let go! ... ... or be dragged!"
My request is very specific, but can you teach and show us how to build an event driven api in python or event driven architecture (EDA).
Very important topic, so thanks for bringing it up! However, I run into more people with Dunning-Kruger than Imposters. 😁
Dunning-Kruger might be a coping mechanism for dealing with imposter syndrome 😁.
It's natural for imposters try and hide themselves as much as possible so that makes sense
There is a study known as Dunning Kruger Effect. In my view it is a different perspective onto the same situation. In the advanced stage, your knowledge of the field is much larger than the knowledge in the field, feeding the feeling of an imposter...
Definitely! That's why it's so important to be aware about it, as it will help you more actively deal with those anxieties.
I always compare myself to other people, and as long as there is someone worse, I know I have work to do!
Beginners, by Tom Vanderbilt, is a great book for riding this feeling to success.
Even John Horton Conway, in his early days, suffered from Imposter Syndrome
Arjan, ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤. Really i have fighting with the syndrome, really.
Keep going! 💪🏻
Comparison is the death of joy.
Dude, every day. It is hard to keep your head straight and remind yourself that you actually know what your talking about and can do the job.
I definitely have imposter syndrome. Always checking my work several times to make sure I didn't f*cked up anything to the point that it will ruin project )
I wonder if I quit because of imposter syndrome, I went to work as a cashier in McDonalds... how long would it take before I realized, "who am I trying to fool, I'm not a real cashier, I'm a developer!"
Im not talented, I just stay motivated and perservere.
05:14 - 05:28 This. You are an AMAZING developer, a GENIUS, have a lot of TALENT... but you don't tick the boxes for those? All of a sudden no one cares about you.
The positive side of things is that you have objective metrics to say that your work is of exquisite quality. But still, the voice in the back of my mind can't go silent because it is true you are not 'that important' to other people. You just have to stick to how much quality your work is, even if not recognized by other people. Focus on that face of the truth (because both affirmations are true).
P.S: Agreed, extremely toxic at best, a dehumanizing experience at worst.
Also, fears are not always 'irrational' (I'd guess that's why you said 'in most cases' near the end). Sometimes terrible stuff DOES happen and that's exactly why you are so scared. Maybe you will be ok in the end... but that doesn't mean that bad stuff won't happen for sure. You just may be more ready to deal with it than you think. Or not. Who knows.
Fake it till you make it is the way to go.
Chat gpt: show me how to…
You imposter. I watched you since the beginning now I uns.... I feel used...