Programmer Imposter Syndrome: 6 Ways to Get Combat It
Tags: impostorsyndrome, coding, programming
Published: 2021-02-10 08:20:50

![impostoer-syndrome](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/x8oms6wpjldt5wt6c86m.jpg)
 
What is the Imposter Syndrome you ask?

It is the constant feeling of not being good enough or knowing enough to do your job well.

Want to Combat your Impostor Syndrome and Overcome it?

Well, you are in the Right Place.

Now, let's talk about 6 Ways to Combat the Impostor Syndrome:


###1. Get Comfortable with being Uncomfortable

You never really will be an expert in software development. There will always be someone who knows something you don't know. 

Accept that there will never be a point where you'll feel completely knowledgeable. 

Embrace your ignorance and use that to fuel your growth, not your self-doubt, he says. The focus on your own weaknesses is understandable and natural. 

None of us want to be the worst developer in a company. The thought may be depressing right now, but I feel it's actually liberating, he adds. 

It's time to focus on getting better and growing, not on what you can control. 

###2. Adopt the Growth Mindset

I grew up mostly believing that intelligence was fixed and that fixed intelligence determined my success.

But in the past few months, I realized that I had unconsciously avoided really difficult concepts and challenges.

I then read a blog by a famous programmer and then I understood the meaning of a “fixed mindset”.

People with a fixed mindset have a constant need to prove their competence and intelligence.

No way to improve.

But like most people with a fixed mindset, I didn’t realize that I had to do that with learning too.

Just like lifting heavier weights or running an extra mile, working through difficult intellectual problems will teach you how to handle even more difficult situations in the future.

The mindset of viewing obstacles as opportunities to learn, to help you improve instead of assaults on your intelligence is a “growth mindset”.

View it as an opportunity to learn, to become better, and to grow.

###3. Keep track of your accomplishments

Reflecting on your successes can help remind you of how far you've come and how good you really are. 

This will help balance the scales of positive vs. negative self-talk that is at the heart of imposter syndrome. 

Make a recurring calendar appointment for the end of every month to add all accomplishments from that month to a "portfolio"

This practice comes with a bonus too. You can take that portfolio to boost your résumé or LinkedIn profile to help you get future jobs. Nice!

###4. Find out how your manager thinks you are doing

Imposter syndrome thrives when all you do is think. 

One of the things you need to do is get out of your own head to combat the syndrome. 

Your manager is the person who has control over your job. 

Getting their input on how you're doing is essential for getting a realistic view of your skills and effectiveness. 

It's useful when you're just starting with a new company or on a new team to calibrate your progress expectations to theirs.

Once you have some goals, discuss your progress with your manager at regular meetings.

###5. Figure out how you learn the best

Using your preferred learning style can help instill confidence and push you further away from imposter syndrome.

For me, I learn languages and frameworks best when I read a book (or another detailed overview) about it first. 

Only by seeing how it works in practice can I fully understand it. I know a lot of developers, and aspiring developers, that learn best by doing. 

If you can create a project that you're personally very interested in, that desire can help you to power through the roadblocks and challenges you'll run into. 

It can also speed up your learning and decrease the amount of that time you feel stuck and incompetent.

###6. Plan your career goals to reduce doubt

To combat this, you should set goals and plan your career path.

I do this to offload it from my head but also for reference in case my priorities or future direction changes, or I’m looking for a new side project.

Second, I would search LinkedIn, Indeed.com, and other job boards (even just Google for “iOS job”) for iOS developer jobs.

You can find the required skills by viewing job requirements for the job you want to have.

A lot of self-induced impostor syndrome can be due to the unknown when looking ahead.

Some other positions might actually require non-native iOS languages like C# and Javascript since there are ways to write apps in those languages too.

First, I’d see if I personally knew anyone who had experience as an iOS dev.

If not, I would see if anyone I knew was an iOS dev.

Instead of looking at how you learn, you need to look at what you want to do eventually — what industry, technology, language, company you want to work in or for.

You can stop looking at new job postings when you’re not seeing anything new.

For example, assume I’m interested in getting a job as an iOS developer.

A lot of iOS jobs request Swift as a language, but you might also find Objective-C.

## It never ends: handling imposter syndrome as you progress

Understanding and accepting imposter syndrome and changing my mindset has had the biggest impact on me. 

I feel that I enjoy my coding journey more and I'm a far better developer because of it. 

Starting to control it early in your career is one of the best ways to reduce its impact on you in the future. 

If I'm working in a new codebase, I find that I have to constantly adjust my mindset to view the task as an opportunity to grow and get better.



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