UTD: Imposter Syndrome - acmutd/help-guide GitHub Wiki

author: mustafa sadriwala, edits:

Imposter Syndrome

Introduction

A quick definition from the interwebs (wikipedia) in case you are unfamiliar with imposter syndrome:

a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".

Unfortunately, Imposter syndrome is fairly prevalent among incoming freshmen and sophomores especially in my experience at UTD and even more so in the Computer Science department. The reason for this is most likely because of how accessible Computer Science can be to some so that even though two people may be starting in the same intro to CS course their freshman year they have two very distinct experience levels with the topic. Often times there will be freshmen students who have coded entire video-streaming platforms as a side project in high school or perhaps do freelance web development for their local community on the weekends. Such peers are impressive and a source of pride for the school no doubt but seeing someone who is your age be so far ahead of you and comparing yourself to that as a standard will assuredly knock down your confidence.

Comparison

There is nothing wrong with comparisons, in fact there is probably something rooted in our survivalist tendencies to compare ourselves to others. But without context it can be quite dangerous.

Say, you come into college with 0 coding experience. Congratulations! You are pretty much just like the next person. No one expects you to come into college and already know everything, what would be the point of pursuing an education and paying tuition for it? If someone does come in with prior knowledge it's fairly unlikely that they will know everything about all the topics you'll cover in your 4 year degree and if they pretend to just know that they are probably lying.

Most of the times, though, it's the knowledge of what to do outside of class when it comes to things like side projects and internships that is the main subject of comparison. Just because you haven't done an outside coding project or haven't attended a single hackathon yet while your friend has done multiple of both doesn't mean you are behind or need to catch up to them in some way. It just means they had access to resources that you probably didn't which allowed them to gain more experience sooner. No big deal. You're both attending the same college and going to the same courses so more than likely you are just as competent as them.

The next time you feel like someone is way better than you consider how they got to that position. Are they really even that much better or is that just your perception of them? If they really are all that then what steps did they take to get there? Can you take those same steps?

Riding Coattails

Sometimes you might find yourself being overshadowed by someone you know and work with that has way more experience/knowledge than you. In these situations you may feel disheartened by the vast difference but if you can step away from that comparison you can see it as an opportunity. Getting to where you want in life isn't easy and most of the times mentors can be super useful. Don't be shy to ask for help from such peer mentors: ask them if you can do a project or a hackathon with them, if they could suggest resources for learning something they know, or if they'd be willing to teach you something themselves. Most of the times you'd be surprised how nice people can be in such situations because in reality by asking them to help you you've indirectly given them a huge compliment.

Fakin' It

This is the most classic piece of advice and really it's what the majority of people are doing. Most people who you think are incredibly smart are likely more talkative and simply know how to phrase their accomplishments in a positive light. This doesn't mean they might not be smart but this skill of faking definitely boosts the perception of them being extraordinary. If you decide to take this advice be careful to not become a jerk! It's fine to fake it once in a while but don't do it to the extent that you give someone else insecurity or you get yourself into a situation you know nothing about.

Self-Confidence

At the end of the day the biggest cure to imposter syndrome is the reason why it's such a problem. A lack of self-confidence. And really there's no easy way to fix this if you don't believe in yourself it's hard for an employer/recruiter/professor/significant-other to either. The above methods are some ways to get around imposter syndrome but if besides that you feel that you are never quite confident in your accomplishments you may want to talk to people close with you to get a second opinion and help you gain some self-esteem or if this is a deeper issue then therapy might be worth considering as well.