Imposter Syndrome
Discussion
The Rotrex Kid said:
I think it’s very common.
I am currently looking to move jobs and the anxiety I am having thinking about doing the new job (which is basically what I already do) is crazy. I haven’t even started yet!!!
Yes. I've been blagging being a chartered engineer for 27 years.I am currently looking to move jobs and the anxiety I am having thinking about doing the new job (which is basically what I already do) is crazy. I haven’t even started yet!!!
Got an interview for a job that is in the right part of the country, paying more than I need, doing stuff, I know enough about, in an industry I've really wanted to work in for years.
Bricking it. I'm going to prepare better than I've ever done before.
I think most of us actually are "impostors" to some degree.
If you want to make a plane fly or a bridge stay up or fix a failing heart then you really need to know your stuff and get it right.
A lot of jobs, the vast majority probably, involve guess work, ambiguities, balancing priorities, snap decisions and a load of other stuff which could be called "blagging it" or more sympathetically using your experience and instinct rather than referring back to immutable laws of nature.
I imagine policing is full of this sort of thing. There isn't a perfect "right" way to break up a drunken brawl, tell a wife she is now a widow, chase down a burglar or many of the other horrible tasks that the police do. You have to judge the situation on the information in front of you and give it your best shot.
I think "impostor syndrome" is a healthy check on the arrogance of certainty that what you're doing and how you're doing it is the best or only way of achieving what you're aiming for.
If you want to make a plane fly or a bridge stay up or fix a failing heart then you really need to know your stuff and get it right.
A lot of jobs, the vast majority probably, involve guess work, ambiguities, balancing priorities, snap decisions and a load of other stuff which could be called "blagging it" or more sympathetically using your experience and instinct rather than referring back to immutable laws of nature.
I imagine policing is full of this sort of thing. There isn't a perfect "right" way to break up a drunken brawl, tell a wife she is now a widow, chase down a burglar or many of the other horrible tasks that the police do. You have to judge the situation on the information in front of you and give it your best shot.
I think "impostor syndrome" is a healthy check on the arrogance of certainty that what you're doing and how you're doing it is the best or only way of achieving what you're aiming for.
Interesting subject.
I never felt this when I was working but now I am retired I look back on my career before I became self employed and in retrospect I now wonder how I managed to get as far as I did in terms of Management, and wonder how I managed to survive as long as I did.
I did however perfect the art of managing upwards and always seemed to be able to convince my bosses that I knew what I was doing such that they left me to get on with my job with no interference.
The art to this was keeping them informed of the things that I thought they needed to know about so they were never placed in an awkward situation, but not telling them of the other problems that arose on a regular basis, many of which could have caused me issues if they had found out.
I feel sure that if I was put into the same roles today I would not be so lucky.
I never felt this when I was working but now I am retired I look back on my career before I became self employed and in retrospect I now wonder how I managed to get as far as I did in terms of Management, and wonder how I managed to survive as long as I did.
I did however perfect the art of managing upwards and always seemed to be able to convince my bosses that I knew what I was doing such that they left me to get on with my job with no interference.
The art to this was keeping them informed of the things that I thought they needed to know about so they were never placed in an awkward situation, but not telling them of the other problems that arose on a regular basis, many of which could have caused me issues if they had found out.
I feel sure that if I was put into the same roles today I would not be so lucky.
Interesting topic, thanks for starting it OP.
I've always somewhat had underlying imposter syndrome, but shrugged it off and cracked on. I left a job after 7 years and feel like I'm starting again in my job. My new company's toolset is complex, old and difficult to manage. I didn't realise it at the time, but I was spoilt in my last job and it was a fantastic place to learn. I would go back, but it's now a 25k pay drop and with the CoL, I don't want to drop down in salary.
Unfortunately, I'm not enjoying my new job at all. I somehow passed my probation, I do very little work, can barely focus on any task (because I'm so bored and overwhelmed). I'm the least experienced person in my team, I join calls and have no idea what they're talking about. But unlike a few years ago, I now can't find the enthusiasm/courage to learn the stuff I don't know
My plan is to save as much money as possible and change my career. It might not fix my imposter syndrome, but I don't want to get to retirement and have hated my career.
I've always somewhat had underlying imposter syndrome, but shrugged it off and cracked on. I left a job after 7 years and feel like I'm starting again in my job. My new company's toolset is complex, old and difficult to manage. I didn't realise it at the time, but I was spoilt in my last job and it was a fantastic place to learn. I would go back, but it's now a 25k pay drop and with the CoL, I don't want to drop down in salary.
Unfortunately, I'm not enjoying my new job at all. I somehow passed my probation, I do very little work, can barely focus on any task (because I'm so bored and overwhelmed). I'm the least experienced person in my team, I join calls and have no idea what they're talking about. But unlike a few years ago, I now can't find the enthusiasm/courage to learn the stuff I don't know
My plan is to save as much money as possible and change my career. It might not fix my imposter syndrome, but I don't want to get to retirement and have hated my career.
bmwmike said:
More decades than i care to mention in cyber security and i still constantly get imposter syndrome. Its an odd industry with so many pathways in, and in some areas, longevity can be a hindrance.
I've long since rationalised it that its good to second guess and to doubt oneself. I saw a diagram a while back, which showed four stages of expertise. At the start you believe you know it all, you're ignorant of what you don't know. As you grow into a knowledge domain (job, skillset, whatever) you gain more realisation that you know a lot less than you thought you did. As you grow further, you realise how much there is to know to become an expert. Eventually at stage four, you realise you can't ever be an expert in your own head / benchmark because you realise there is just too much to learn, but you become adept at finding info.
So the question is are you stage 2 or stage 4 lol.
I've think its good to respect the doubts, and more importantly not to be afraid to ask "stupid" questions or questions that you, at your level, "should" know. Sometimes the answers might surprise you.
This?I've long since rationalised it that its good to second guess and to doubt oneself. I saw a diagram a while back, which showed four stages of expertise. At the start you believe you know it all, you're ignorant of what you don't know. As you grow into a knowledge domain (job, skillset, whatever) you gain more realisation that you know a lot less than you thought you did. As you grow further, you realise how much there is to know to become an expert. Eventually at stage four, you realise you can't ever be an expert in your own head / benchmark because you realise there is just too much to learn, but you become adept at finding info.
So the question is are you stage 2 or stage 4 lol.
I've think its good to respect the doubts, and more importantly not to be afraid to ask "stupid" questions or questions that you, at your level, "should" know. Sometimes the answers might surprise you.
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