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Nandini S Hinduja
Nandini S Hinduja

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How to beat impostor syndrome as a software developer?

Let's be honest, if you are a software developer, you have probably felt like an impostor at least once. At least once, you would have felt like you don't deserve what you have. For many people, they are consumed by the impostor syndrome and they perpetually believe that they are frauds and that they do not deserve the job that they have. But it is necessary to feel good about yourself in order to do your best work. And for you to feel good about yourself, you need to get rid of the impostor syndrome. These are some strategies I use to get rid of impostor syndrome:

  • Think about how far you have come to get here. All those years you hustled for the position you are in now. All of that cannot be fake, right? Which means you worked hard to get here. Which means you deserve to be here.
  • Think about your accomplishments. All the rewards, prizes, accolades, awards, recognitions which you have received. They were given to you because someone saw your value. Which means you are valuable.
  • Track the work that you do each day. This will give you some visibility on what you bring to the table each day. It will also give you a sense of accomplishment.
  • Try to sell your services outside of your 9-5 job. If you are able to make sales on your own, this gives you proof that people still want to buy from you which means what you have to offer is needed by more than your company. Actual people need your services.

What do you do to get rid of impostor syndrome?

Top comments (6)

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Andrew Jensen

Imposter syndrome is a reality in the dev space. For some reason, we keep comparing ourselves to those around us. It's such a waste of time.

Getting rid of it is as simple as changing a few viewpoints.

  1. There is no way in hell you will ever know everything about the space.
  2. The space is ever-changing.
  3. Your greatest weapon in your arsenal is your ability to learn. Make that your focus point.
  4. Every dev you meet will either go through what you're going through, or they've been through it at some point.
  5. We love tech, first principle is your best friend
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nandinishinduja profile image
Nandini S Hinduja

thanks for your insights!

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Ranjan Dailata • Edited

Overcome self-doubt, Having great patience, consistent effort in what we are doing etc. matters a lot.

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nandinishinduja profile image
Nandini S Hinduja

yes, thanks for your ideas!

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Kelvin Kaira

seeking mentorship, setting realistic goals and have a continuos learning curve

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Nandini S Hinduja

yes!