The Simplest Way For New Developers To Overcome Imposter Syndrome

Every developer struggles with Imposter Syndrome.

Personally, I have for years anytime I got to a new phase of my career. I remember when I was starting out, attending user groups, and thinking "these people are in a whole other league!"

But what changed for me was understanding that everyone is on a journey and how much (or little) you know is relative. And as soon as that clicked, I started to understand that overcoming Imposter Syndrome wasn't that hard—I was just doing the wrong thing.

Here's what I should have done instead:

Instead of comparing myself to other people, I should have focused on getting a little better each day

When I was comparing myself to other people, especially those further along on their journey, it was easy to think I didn't belong.

But when I looked back and realized how much I had learned over the past 6 to 12 months, it was a different story. I was able to asses what was working (and not) for my learning and growth. And I was able to see how important it was to just keep improving.

Don't forget, everyone was new once too.