Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
My name is Bernard Wong and I’m a Data Science and Statistics student at UC San Diego. I’m part of a brand new innovative major at a prestigious university and I’ve done a lot of exciting things. I’ve got plenty of projects under my belt, one of which was a research paper about heart rates and sleep intervals that was presented in front of a panel of well established medical professionals. I’ve participated in a few coding competitions and was selected by Lyft as the winner of the DS3 Datathon. I’ve helped lead different clubs on campus and I’m even leading a team on a project for DS3. And I’m a fraud.
Well, not exactly a fraud. I didn’t cheat my way to do any of those things and as far as I’m concerned I don’t think any cops will be visiting me any time soon. But I have done a pretty good job of convincing myself that I haven’t done anything great.
“Oh, you got into UC San Diego? That’s cute, even though you got off the waitlist and they probably only accepted you because you’re out of state and they want your money.”
“Good job on your research paper. It’s too bad you only got the internship because you had a connection with your professor; he probably only gave it to you because you asked.”
“Oh look at you, winner of the Datathon! You didn’t even want to go in the first place, you didn’t even initially have a team! You just got lucky, people are bound to find out you’re just faking it.”
These were all thoughts that I’ve had and occasionally still do pop up. It doesn’t help that I go to a school where I’ve met people who are deciding between a Google or Apple internship or where it’s common to hear conversations about only needing a 70% to get an A+ in a class (meanwhile, I need around a 95% for a B). While it seemed like everyone else had everything figured out, I would spend hours on hours asking for help and looked up things on StackOverflow which really took a hit on my self-confidence. I was afraid to apply to internships because I thought that companies would just look at my resume and laugh. I was reluctant to talk about my projects because I thought that other people would think they were too simple. And as I began to research different graduate schools and stressfully think that there was no way any school was going to accept me, I panicked and looked up what other students were doing for their applications. It was only until I started reading into other people’s struggles and self-doubts that I realized, maybe I wasn’t the only one that felt lost. And as I read more and more, a phrase kept on repeatedly popping up: imposter syndrome.
What is Imposter Syndrome?
As Harvard Business Review puts it, “Imposter syndrome can be defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success.” In layman’s terms, Imposter Syndrome is when you doubt your skills and feel like you’re not good enough for something even though you are. And it turns out Imposter Syndrome is a HUGE problem in the tech industry. According to some surveys done by Blind, Impostor syndrome affects almost 58% of tech professionals. And while it might not be the most statistically sound, it’s still quite a large number, and a quick Google search shows how many people struggle with Imposter Syndrome.
And just in case you don’t believe experts actually experience Imposter Syndrome, here is some input from very accredited people from various industries:
I have written 11 books but each time I think ‘Uh-oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’ — Maya Angelou
Even though I had sold 70 million albums, there I was feeling like “I’m no good at this.” — Jennifer Lopez
I am not a writer. I’ve been fooling myself and other people. — John Steinbeck
Imposter Syndrome in Data Science
There’s a very big reason why it’s affecting Data Scientists in particular. Data Science is an incredibly young subject and as a result, it’s constantly changing. It means different things to different people and companies and this uncertainty in the subject translates into a lack of a common standard, leading to uncertainty in ability.
Data Science is also a very interdisciplinary field. It covers a multitude of subjects from Statistics to Machine Learning to Computer Programming and the list of things you need to know can be quite overwhelming. So it is completely understandable and expected that people at all different skill sets — from beginner to expert — will feel the effects of Imposter’s Syndrome at one point.
So how do you overcome Imposter Syndrome?
There are a few things that you can do to help counteract Imposter Syndrome:
Focus on your goals: In the end, your goal should not be the most skilled person in the world or an “absolute coding god”. Remember what you’re setting out to accomplish, set reasonable plans, and focus on achieving your goals rather than worrying about others or how good your skillset is.
Talk with others: Realize that you’re not alone! Talk with other students or people you’re working with, and you’d be surprised to see how much other people are struggling too.
Remember your accomplishments: While you may believe what you’re doing is easy, remember how much work you put in to get to where you are now. Talk with someone who’s never done any data science or had any experience with any topics in your projects or work! It’ll be a nice reminder of how much you actually know when you get questions like “Coding in Python like the snake?” or “For loop? a loop for what?”
Ensure it’s not just a lack of confidence: With all that being said, it is entirely possible that you actually don’t know what’s going on. If you don’t know what you’re doing and as a result you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s probably not Imposter Syndrome and just that you have yet to learn the proper skills. That’s totally normal and happens to everyone! Use this discomfort to work harder and take the initiative to learn more and expand your skill sets.
Imposter Syndrome is something that most people will deal with regardless of actual skill set. However, we shouldn’t let these feelings cripple our mindsets and prevent us from reaching our full potentials. We know a lot more than we think we do, and we’ve put in the hours and work to get to where we are today. Let’s give ourselves the credit where credit is due, all while striving to continue learning and enriching our experiences.
