Overcoming Impostor Syndrome: Self-taught Perspectives
In my Self-taught Perspective series, I aim to provide an angle on common themes & topics in the tech industry from the lens of a self-taught developer. My goal is to encourage aspiring developers who are treading the same path, with the ultimate goal of turning their passion into a career.
The tech industry is relentless when it comes to innovation. This rapid change can be daunting for developers who lack the time and energy to keep up.
During code reviews, interviews, and technical meetings, shortcomings are easily exposed, which can then lead to the feeling of Impostor Syndrome.
This feeling is not limited to these those new to the field. Seasoned coders with 10+ years of experience feel it too. We as humans cannot help but compare ourselves with others, and chances are, you will run into others that are better than you.
Below are points I remind myself time and time again to beat this mental pressure, as impostor syndrome is very much a struggle within your own mind.
1. If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room
We cannot escape the fact that someone, somewhere out there, has more knowledge, experience and talent in whatever field that you are in, and that is completely OK!
We all have met that one guy on our team that codes after work, on weekends, does the daily leetcode challenge, and still somehow has energy to teach coding as a side-gig.
I spoke to this guy on my team recently, and to my surprise, he too has the same anxiety of not being ‘good enough’.
I thought to myself, “Wow…if he feels this too, then when am I ever going to be good enough?!”.
Thus, I came to this realisation: it is OK to not be good enough!
There will always be someone smarter than you, more hard-working than you, more confident than you, and that is FINE! In fact, you should embrace this opportunity. Rather than be intimidated by your peer, let this be a chance for you to grow, ask questions, and to learn.
If you are a self-taught developer, seek out talented individuals and pick their brains. Better yet, get a mentor to guide you along the correct path. Surround yourself with talented individuals and you will grow so much more than you can imagine.
As a famous saying goes:
“If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.”
2. Focus on your own goals and know your limits
As a self-taught developer, I can’t help but compare my meagre coding skills with my peers. Already feeling behind due to the lack of CS knowledge that comes with a relevant university degree, I feel immense pressure not just to keep up, but stay ahead!
The mental pressure of needing to stay ahead of the curve can be utterly crushing, especially if you are the type to set a high bar for personal excellence.
This is one reason I refuse to go down the full-stack route. I would rather be an excellent frontend developer, rather than a mediocre full-stack. As a father and husband, I simply do not have the time or energy to excel at both.
From my experience, it is also quite common for developers to develop a preference for a particular stack. With preference comes passion, and we often only do our best work in accordance with our passion.
Whatever path you choose to go, know your passion and stick within your limits. Know when to take breaks and when to say ‘no’. Don’t spread yourself too thin like butter scraped over too much bread, lest you wind up like Bilbo Baggins.
3. Celebrate your wins
During times of immense self-doubt, it is easy to spiral down a path of hopelessness and self-punishment.
During these moments, it is important to reflect back on how far you’ve come and the progress that you’ve made!
Personally, I enjoy keeping a history of my earliest projects on GitHub (of course set to private!). These early abominations paint a stark contrast in talent, or lack thereof, to the talent I possess today. Reflecting on projects also shows how impossible a task my recent accomplishments would have seemed to my younger self.
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At the end of the day, impostor syndrome is a mental battle of self-confidence. Confidence is a fickle emotion. We can feel on top of the world one day and soul-crushingly deflated the next.
That’s why it’s important to stay grounded and remind yourself how much you have achieved, and where you want to go next. Having a clear goal provides a sense of direction and purpose, which can help transform that self-doubt into a powerful motivator for growth.
In my next article, I wish to write about direction, drive and purpose, and what it takes to kick-start a career in IT going down the self-taught path.
Stay tuned!
