- Today I wanna talk about
something called impostor syndrome.
Now this is a condition
that does affect people in the industry
and it's not just programming.
But I've certainly met people who are affected by this
and I've had those feelings from time to time as well.
So let's talk about impostor syndrome,
what it is,
but more importantly how to overcome it
in today's video.
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(upbeat music)
Welcome back.
My name is Tim Buchalka
with another programming tip of the day.
And we're talking about impostor syndrome.
So let's start with our sort of rough definition
of what it is.
Well really what it is,
it's a feeling that you've got
where you feel that for whatever reason
you're not worthy enough
or that other people,
other programmers are smarter than you.
Perhaps you're not smart enough.
You're feeling that you're a fraud
and you're gonna be exposed as a fraud
and just in general you've got these feelings
that any other, any success you've had,
perhaps it's been attributed to luck.
So in other words,
you're not really giving yourself any credit
for any achievements you might have.
And this is a real condition.
Wikipedia has got a link about it, a page about it.
There's a link in the description
if you wanna refer to that.
First thing to recognise
is the fact that there's information out there
on impostor syndrome
should actually be a good thing for you to realise
because it means that it's a recognised condition
that people do actually have.
And it's not necessarily the truth.
So yeah, it's particularly,
probably prevalent when you're just starting out.
So if you're feeling a little bit uncertain
because you're not to the stage
where you're really comfortable as a programmer
and everything comes to you
sort of without having to think too hard about it.
That's probably where it's gonna really affect you the worst
then if you're starting your first programming job,
you might feel intimidated,
you might be feeling overwhelmed.
It's your first programming job
or just talking to you peers
because the reality is programming,
with programming and with most things
but certainly with programming
you're gonna find guru programmers that you work with,
people who you will look up to and think,
"Wow, how do they know so much?"
And if you're actually
comparing yourself to them all the time,
that can really be a negative thing for you
and it can really sort of dent your self-confidence.
Instead I think what you need to do
is just focus on what you have achieved
and recognise that there's going to be always someone
who's got more knowledge than you
and always someone who's got less knowledge than you,
and people who are at your level.
That's the reality of life in general,
in virtually any skill.
And when you're starting out programming
of course you'll be coming into your first job
as a junior programmer.
Then probably a lot of people
you're gonna perceive to be at that high level
and it may not necessarily be true.
It might just be
that they actually know the particular company
and the procedures and the systems
that have been developed for that company better than you
because of course you haven't worked there before.
So recognising that
and trying to focus on what you've achieved
is very important.
So I like to do that,
if I ever have those feelings
and look, I have had those feelings in the past.
I have to be completely honest,
when I first started releasing programming courses on Udemy
going way back in 2015.
I actually wondered, can I pull this off?
Would people like to code?
Am I worthy enough to produce courses like this?
So it's a real condition that affects people.
So again I would focus on the fact
that recognising that there is a condition out there.
But focusing on your achievements.
Now if you haven't got a programming job
and perhaps you're feeling these things,
wondering whether you're gonna ever be able
to get a programming job.
Firstly, check my video up here on persistence.
Very important for you to check that.
So that's actually going to probably help you
if you've got these feelings
that you can actually become a programmer.
But also recognise,
focus on what you've already succeeded at.
And to give you an example of that,
let's say you're starting out
learning how to programme.
You've been through one of my courses,
say the Java masterclass course.
You get to, say section two,
and you're getting frustrated and thinking,
"Oh, how am I gonna understand this or section three."
In other words you've done the basic things
but you're getting stuck on something.
Now what you could do
is you could look at that and think,
"Oh, I'm never gonna understand programming."
And you get frustrated and you give up
or throw the monitor out the window or whatever it is
or take a step back and go,
"Okay, I'm having some trouble with this at the moment.
"I'm feeling a bit frustrated.
"What have I actually achieved?"
So you go back and actually have a look
at what you've already started.
You've learned the basics of programming.
Chances are you've already
really built up your skills without realising it,
and you're not really focusing
on what you've already achieved,
what you've already learnt in the course.
You're focusing on what's coming up.
So I would actually celebrate the achievements.
So celebrate what you do know
and give yourself a bit of credit
and say, "Okay, great.
"Well I've learned the basics of programming now.
"Now I just need to get over this next roadblock,
"this next hurdle."
So this really equates back to imposter syndrome as well
because if you're recognising what you can do
and focusing on the skills that you've achieved
and you've succeeded at,
you're going to feel less and less like this impostor.
And look, you're not gonna be exposed as a fraud
in your first programming job
because you do have the information.
Now obviously if you're going into a programming job
and you don't know anything about programming
and you've tricked the interviewer
to get a programming job.
Okay, you probably are gonna be recognised
or exposed rather as a fraud,
because you are in that scenario.
But if you're someone
who's been through a programming course,
you've got the skills and you're now working.
Then look, you are a programmer.
That's the reality.
Have you got some other skills you need to acquire?
Yes.
Is there things you need to learn?
Yes, absolutely.
So do all programmers.
Just remember this,
the final thing I wanna say here
is that all programmers were at a point,
at one point in their life
where they didn't know how to code.
No one is actually born a programmer.
No one wakes up and is suddenly like a programmer.
You've gotta learn it.
It's a journey to learn it.
So just keep all that in mind
and focus on your accomplishments and what you've done
and just realise that you are gonna meet
people with different skill levels
and that's not to say that that's a bad thing.
If you haven't got the skill of another person,
you haven't built up to their level of skill.
They might have been doing it for 20 years
and you might have been programming for one year.
So they should be better,
they should be a lot better than you.
But you're always gonna find people,
and I've found this in my career.
I've got people who I absolutely look up to and think,
"Man, they are really good programmers.
"Will I ever get to that level?"
They're absolutely gurus in my eyes.
But I've got other people that I've met
at all stages as well.
We all work together as a team
when you get into a programming job.
And you'll find that generally most people are nice
and work with you.
And it's very rare for people to look down on other people.
I mean it does happen but it's very rare.
So the point is, focus on your accomplishments,
and just realise that you're not a fraud.
You just need to work on those skills.
You've got much,
a lot of things, a lot to learn,
and that's the reality of being a programmer.
There's always something more to learn.
So that's it.
Thanks for watching.
All righty, so I hope that helped.
If you've got any questions
feel free to leave a comment and I'll get back to you.
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