How Do I Stop Feeling Like An Impostor? Conquering Impostor Syndrome

Have you ever felt like an impostor as a developer? That you weren't as good as someone else (or everyone else)? Have you ever wondered when you would become a REAL developer?
In this video, we are going to address impostor syndrome. The feeling that you just aren't good enough. There are some very clear steps you can take to improve the feeling of being an impostor.
Mailing List: signup.iamtimcorey.com/

[@charlesdodson829]

I've been at this for 30+ years, and I still struggle and feel so far behind the rest of the programming community. Until now, I didn't know there was even a term for this. Thank you for pointing this out and letting me know I'm not alone.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I am glad this video was helpful. You aren't alone.

[@williammain3247]

I think it is more noticeable because we are all working in larger teams with someone to compare our skills to. No more being the only, lonely IT guy for the whole company locked away from the social employees in the basement server room. In decades past with Boomers still viable in the workforce, I was the authority on computers in the company and compared to the average Boomer’s IT talent… Boomer’s frequently told me I was amazing at computers. The younger people just want Gen X to retire so they can advance and not eat up their social security, They are not impressed with Gen X IT skills at all and might even comment in the negative about Gen X IT skills.

[@cassiwilliams9448]

I am currently in a coding course. We've addressed Imposter Syndrome, but you added an important detail that really hit home with me. You said not to compare ourselves against other people because (and I'm paraphrasing) we are comparing our weakest skill against their strongest. That is a great reminder, and it will be part of my sanity mantra. Thank you!

[@IAmTimCorey]

I am glad it was helpful.

[@fredericpelletier3968]

What a great topic. I've been developing software for 20 years. I always feel like everyone else knows everything even though I know it's impossible.

[@IAmTimCorey]

lol, yeah, it feels that way sometimes.

[@karend5880]

been doing this just as long and I feel the same.

[@adrianalvarez2163]

I am definitely recommending this to my colleagues. You rock, man!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thank you!

[@tongho4707]

I just started looking for a new job. All these requirements they're asking for made me feel like an impostor. This made me feel a little better.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Glad it helped

[@Noceo]

Fun thing is, that every time I learn X units of new stuff, I feel like I discover 2X units of new stuff, that I haven't learned yet. So even though I am growing as a dev, on an absolute basis, I am getting relatively less knowledgeable (meaning what I know well relative to what I know about). It's a weird feeling, but I am starting to get used to it.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Yep, I understand that. The key is to relax, realize you can't know everything, and focus on the skills that are most relevant for you.

[@TCsthesia]

"I know that I know nothing". There is something very true to that sentiment. The more you learn, the more you discover how deep things go.

[@m5s10]

This is not just a developer lesson, this is a life lesson. I needed this. Thank you Tim. :)

[@IAmTimCorey]

Glad it was helpful!

[@haroldemmers3678]

Really thx. This gave me so much energy while I was in a place of doubt. And I found you exactly when I needed it. Pure synchronicity.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Awesome!

[@ahmad23232]

"Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today." - Dr. Jordan B Peterson

[@IAmTimCorey]

Yep, that's good advice.

[@benjaminmusasizi3777]

I absolutely agree 100%

[@higherpurpose1212]

This is actually my principle now coming from self-reflection during the pandemic in my country.

[@Jaracara11]

Holy shit this is one of the best advices ever

[@johanponin1360]

schizophrens shaking their heads

[@dannyyang9181]

Thank you for the words of wisdom. I just bought your all access course bundle last month and I am learning a lot!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Glad you like them!

[@khue681]

Great video Tim, thank you for creating this. Hoping to see more data structure and algorithm videos in C# from you.

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@defenestratedalien1448]

Thanks a lot Tim. Watching from Nigeria. Been developing for 3 years since 28th May and just found your channel this January. I cannot believe all i have learnt from you just in this time span, talk about unknown unknowns. Very grateful sir

[@IAmTimCorey]

I am glad it has been so helpful.

[@rauladrianalfonzobaptista9700]

Just amazing Tim what you do for our community bringing up this topic. Good for the effort and concern. Thanks pal.

[@IAmTimCorey]

My pleasure!

[@red999sk]

I was really in need of a video like this. Thanks for that, and thanks for all the amazing content you make available for free, here on KZbin. You're awesome!!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Glad it was helpful!

[@kontrolla1]

Thanks for your honesty and support Tim. I can definitely relate to this issue. The skills I am learning from you week after week are definitely helping me feel that I am not an imposter and that I can take on the development challenges I am facing and get through them. Really looking forward to the Xamarin skills you have in store. Xamarin is a challenge that defeated me last time I tried to get to grips with it.

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are most welcome. Thanks for watching.

[@tony_duplex]

You are a great communicator! I am really glad that I found your channel. Keep going Tim!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thank you!

[@andyhudsonsynthpop]

I've been building websites since 1997 and there is a lot I still don't know, but I figure that we all know different stuff and only by being open, talking and sharing ideas will you ever grow. We can all learn from each other, but most of us are too nervous to admit that we don't know something and too guarded to offer opinions in case we make ourselves look stupid. Realising that you can't possibly know everything is a start, share what you do know and being receptive to new ideas is a great way to build confidence and learn more. I've learnt so many things from work colleges and even competitors in business that I would never have learnt online. I work alone, and the isolation away from action, so to speak, can make you think that you're way behind the curve. Most of the time, you probably further along that you think. I've made friends with other lone developers and each of use uses a different technology but even so we're always asking each other for help or a pointer in the right direction. Well done Tim for talking about this

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for sharing.

[@dand4485]

I think when i use to work at Microsoft, the key often wasn't did you fail when you tried to do something, it was more that are you still learning and trying... A dead fish need not exert any force to be driven where the water will take it. And would assert often we learn more from failure than success. To that end, consider a light bulb, Edison i heard failed about 10000 yep ten thousand times before success. Also consider how much he probably learned from the first to 9000th, would assert he started refining what he needed to know... Would assert he knew a lot more from the past failures then he would have if he never tried, and each failures along the way eventually got him to a successful solution in the end...

[@FlorinAsavei]

Tim, you are my favorite teacher right now :-) I love your videos and I am really looking foreword to this new series, I think a lot of developers needed this.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thank you!

[@pauldudley1273]

Thanks for making this video and explaining the topic the way you did. I've been feeling pretty down about it for a couple of months. When you spoke about the Xamarian stuff it made me realize that I actually have a checklist of pain points. If I write down that list (which I did) and work on them, 1 point at a time, I'll start eliminating areas where I feel like an impostor.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Glad it was helpful! It sounds like you are on the right path.

[@pete9049]

Great series Tim! Keep them coming!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks! Will do!

[@TheAmbush9999]

Subscribed! I'm a PHP/Laravel developer who often feel this way. Now looking back over the last 6 months I can definitely see a massive improvement. These kind of videos are just as important than the coding tutorials. Great video!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Awesome! I am glad it was helpful.

[@ansoneltube]

Hi Tim, was a wonderful video that really encourages and keeps us in pace. Thanks a lot!!!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jamiedewitz6832]

Thank you for sending me the link to this video. It was very helpful and I am going to try keeping this info in mind. :)

[@IAmTimCorey]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Mooseontheloose89]

Another great video Tim, recently made the jump to being a software developer and your point about make sure you look at comparing yourself to yourself is so true. Very easy to lose sight of your own destiny if you're worried about the comparison of yourself against someone else!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for sharing.

[@agamil3]

I'm a dev who have a 13 years experience or so coding and from time to time I always feel that I'm outdated and that a lot of people in the field know way much than what I know.. The work and life commitments always pressure me in a way that makes me really exhausted and just wanna take some break and that puts me in a very awkward situation where I say that I'm a 13 years experience dev but don't know much of what is going around these days and believe me.. It feels terribly bad. Sometimes I feel I must learn this and must learn that and pick some knowledge from here and there but don't have the chance to really practice what I've learned and then it slips away and I start to feel even worse. It's an evil vicious circle that just started to slow down when I just saw this video. You made me feel better, mate, and I started to believe that It's OK not to put myself in that overwhelming pressure again. I really thank you, Tim.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I'm glad I was able to help. You can do this.

[@articgoneape]

You and me both. Yes you can look at my resume and it says "10 years experience" as a software developer, but when I just lost my job recently, I felt dumb. I knew C# to a point but am I even good enough to proceed to get another job doing it? After I cried for about a week and talked to more and more people, I have started taking baby steps and looking at C# refresher courses, even that means starting from the very basic, like creating a console application and learning data types (int, long, bool, etc). YOU CAN DO IT!!! Baby Steps!!!

[@manqobasibeko7251]

Tim Corey thank you so much i came for a lesson then came across this. Some South Africa universities have no way forqard or whatsoever because of this pandemic situation and our online system is failing us daily. There's no hope and I'd be discourage thinking i won't make it but after this video I'm pumped up again thank you so much. We learning alot from you thank you so much

[@IAmTimCorey]

I am glad it was so helpful. You can do this!

[@manqobasibeko7251]

Thank you again

[@RRCaddick]

Dude, your content is so golden! I ce across your videos when I was on the verge of giving up on my learning journey and now feel more motivated and driven then ever! Thank you so much for seeing this need in the community and making it your mission to help

[@tomthelestaff-iamtimcorey7597]

Its comments like this that keep Tim going. Thanks!

[@RRCaddick]

@@tomthelestaff-iamtimcorey7597 perhaps you could relay to Tim a topic I would be very interested to hear his take on. Since Microsoft has 86ed all on premises certifications such as 70-483 what certification direction would he recommend, if any for those looking to get some paperwork behind them. Could make for an interesting video. Anyways thanks again :-)

[@tomthelestaff-iamtimcorey7597]

@@RRCaddick He addressed that here- kzbin.info/www/bejne/ql6le56gqbRpbqM

[@dune102]

Very good advice here from Tim. I've been developing software since 1986 and now work as a software consultant with my own company. I can honestly say that there's nothing I disagree with here. I would also say, help your colleagues e.g. if you have some piece of information be it business logic or any gotchas with using a library or api that they may be struggling to use, pass on the info and help them out. This will build up your "standing" for being helpful and knowledgeable, and when it's your turn to be missing that crucial bit of information that's stopping you from completing some design or code, you'll have all those people you've helped, willing to spare some of their time and knowledge in order to return the favour and help you out. Also, if you're stuck on a problem, don't sit there in a cold sweat, ask a colleague for their thoughts on it, and as you're describing the problem to them, it seems to make your brain think a little differently and you may find that the solution suddenly comes to you! We call this the "cardboard cutout programmer" where I come from as the person you're explaining the issue to seldom has to say anything on the matter.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for sharing.

[@bassjunk3]

Talk to the duck!

[@higherpurpose1212]

Good advise. I remember when I was starting to learn C to parse C-ISAM files in my company, I struggled a lot, but my manager who was a very good C programmer before getting promoted, sat beside me and we debugged the code and gave me tips and learning. What a guy.

[@RandyJohnson1957]

Thank you, Tim. This is very timely for me as I am beginning a new project as Level 2 production support for up to 46 applications. Fortunately, not all 46 are on me from the beginning, but it is my C# and SQL skills up to this time that made me attractive for this role. Another frustration I have is wanting to be a developer and creating new things, but always being thrown into supporting some legacy software. I have heard that this is a common place of beginning for a lot of developers and it can be frustrating. I heard you say recently that 40% of our learning comes from reading other people's code, so I am taking that as my goal. I am going to read the code that is already there and learn from it: First, to learn the application I am supporting better, and second, to see how others have made code. I've started on the Tournament Tracker series and am forcing myself to slow down and actually type the code and study it as I go along. When I first started out, code libraries were an absolute mystery to me because I thought the books would already be there in the library. It took me a while to realize that except for the framework libraries, I would have to write the books myself.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Yep, reading the code of others is very valuable. And don't overlook the opportunity you have right now. Supporting an existing application is a great learning tool. It will help your debugging skills, your code-reading skills, your logic, and a lot more.

[@Anubis10110]

Since you do support..it will great opportunity for you to know and study yours ecosystem weaknesses and from there you can develop a small app or script to fix those issues since you know all the symptoms of the case. You can show that to the management and definitely there will be a good response.

[@dand4485]

Hahah, i'll just be glad once we cross "The Great Divide" there won't be any more computers, just time to worship and praise the King of Glory :)

[@articgoneape]

You can do it Randy! I am watching his Tournament Tracker series as well. We are all in this together!!!

[@higherpurpose1212]

You can do it, Randy, we are not too old to learn. Been a C# developer for almost a decade, but you know what, our system is template-based and we never implemented (and the boss here doesn't want to break the code by introducing major changes) these new techs like dependency injection and other unit tests and containers that are out there, but NOW I'm trying to make my brain explode by learning these new stuff and good practices, even though my company might never use it. Learn, learn, and learn some more, baby steps... :)

[@youraverageprogrammer7532]

Thanks for all you do for us Tim!

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@clayman1980]

Thank you very much for these words, Tim. I happened to struggle with IS quite a lot for a few months a few years ago when I was changing jobs after nearly 10 years at the same company (a large one at over 1,300 people, of which about a third was developers). The company I went to (and still am at) is incomparably smaller at a few dozen developers. For almost two years, I was the only server backend developer there. I spent pretty much all of my 15 years of professional career writing all sorts of backend code, so I could have felt secure in knowing I had done that stuff all of my professional life, but I didn't. I felt like all of my achievements somehow came about as a result of lucky coincidences. Thankfully, once I acclimatized and started cranking out code I thought was good (and my supervisor did too, thankfully) and kept coming up with lots of solutions to problems I encountered along the way, that feeling of being an impostor has dissipated. I still feel stupid sometimes when I try to learn a new technology and things just don't seem to click in my head. I did notice (and you pointed out) that it really helps to get my hands dirty and experiment with the new stuff so the brain can start figuring out what works and how, and what does not. I hate that initial feeling of overwhelm, but when I finally do figure things out, the sense of accomplishment is always worth the effort. :)

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for sharing.

[@higherpurpose1212]

A big thank you, Tim for this psychological and motivational advise. I've watched many videos about Impostor Syndrome in YT as well before this, but coming from a fellow developer, this hits home. How I wish you're my team leader in my dev team. Thanks for the many videos as well. I hope you can create an hour long sample application on DI with Ninject and MS DI Container, Web API with authentication and authorization with good practices, complete with different types of unit test implementations. cheers

[@IAmTimCorey]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sumanahaldar9289]

Thanks for making the video in this topic. It helps me a lot to do a new start.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Glad it was helpful!

[@simonmcguirk]

Awesome advice. It makes so much sense to focus on personal progress and improvement over time rather than comparing yourself to others. Now I just need to put this into practice. Thanks Tim

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@alibarznji2000]

I had a huge project last year, I had big gaps in my knowledge of C# and I was very confused, but I have had the chance to stabilize myself and get the confusion out of myself by studying a lot. I somehow made my project work and it made me money, but now I look at my code and chuckle, it's amazing how long have I come. Love your channel dude, you're the best.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I am glad you were able to get it running. That's a big accomplishment.

[@abdullahihsanulhaq9714]

Thank you very much, Tim, I have learnt from you a lot, please keep doing the good work.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks, will do!

[@domonzacz8148]

Thank You for this video. This shows many things what I was wary and now I feel more motivation

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@mhi59000]

Thank you man. Very helpful and useful. I was thinking it was just me but finally, it's a pretty common feeling. Really, thank you

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@HollandHiking]

Thank you for sharing. I like to give two tips and one good story. First tip is watch Simon Sinek. He talks about companies and has a nice metaphor. Essentially he says, do not look at others look at yourself. My second tip. Ten years ago I lost my job. I then got access to a job coach. The main thing job coaches do, is let you find out what you can, and what you really want to do. Society is very focused on what you are not so good in. Ignore that and find you what are the things you can do very well. Then a short story. I have been a product owner of a nice co-operative team. One of the senior developers some times said in our dailies. "Well, I did something stupid yesterday. That was not a good idea". He always looked happy with it ad we all appreciated it and accepted his open attitude. I really love this guy because he is honest but he always is helpful to others. Just like to share this. Feel good about what you can, learn new stuff and write code you and others understand.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for sharing.

[@HussainGhuloumQ8]

Tim, you are an amazing teacher and an amazing programmer ! thank you for all of your support. PS: when can i expect the xamarin course? it would be cool if you take the xamarin into an enterprise level too

[@IAmTimCorey]

I am hoping to have it out this summer (August or September). I am moving in July, so that is going to suck up some of my time.

[@articgoneape]

Needed to hear this! After I lost my job a week and a half ago, I kept saying to myself "no one will want want to hire me, I feel dumb, I don't know as much C# as the other developers do...etc" I would look at job postings and cry because I felt stupid. Once I gave myself a week to "mourn" over losing my job, I am taking baby steps to do refresher C# courses and work on mini projects to create my "portfolio". One of my previous co-workers was like a mentor to me (he is a Senior Software Engineer) and I am getting some help from him as well. Met with him for lunch the other day and he to says he has "bombed interviews" and didn't feel the smartest with some of his past code, etc. It really does help to talk to others!! YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for your amazing words of encouragement!

[@IAmTimCorey]

I am glad this was so helpful. You can do this.

[@nove1398]

This was a good message, I have a friend who said the same thing a few years ago. I had let him know basically the same info you put forward today. There are persons being affected by this and even more so than I thought and this has to be heard.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for sharing.

[@ZRide72]

I've felt like this as I've never been formally trained in OOP but have managed to hammer out project after project. I'm now going back to the drawing board and trying to learn the basics. Your videos are a great help. Thanks.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I am glad they are helpful.

[@sivandooth]

Thank you Tim for helping me. It came out in just perfect time for me. I was going through such a face in my like. Thank you very much

[@IAmTimCorey]

Glad it helped!

[@Anecthor]

Thank you, Tim, for your hard work and everything you do to help us grow as developer!

[@IAmTimCorey]

My pleasure!

[@TP_Raks]

Tim you are that rare gem one finds after many months of searching for relevant help regarding code. I can't sing your praises enough man🙌🏾🤸♥️

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thank you!

[@greg4505]

This is a great video, I'm really happy I saw it. I am retiring from the military soon and want to be a developer, I write code, I have apps in the store, I experimented with other languages but I constantly feel like i'm not going to be good enough for someone to want to hire me when I get out. I fully understand about being stuck on something, I struggled with interfaces for a while until I finally had that Ah-Ha moment. This I think, has given me some reassurance and resolve in achieving my goals after military retirement. Thank you!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Great! I am glad it was helpful.

[@ferrarijuan]

It is so strange, but just yesterday I was going through this feeling of "i am fooling my colleagues and myself" because I am calling myself a developer but I suck at it. I was wondering about my fellow developers, but felt too ashamed to even consider asking them if they also get these feelings sometimes. That was when the question came up in my mind about when do you start calling yourself a developer? . . . I do absolutely agree with you that getting this feeling is something that is going to happen to every developer, at various stages and for most of us every now and again. For me, one of the biggest reasons though is that our field of study is just so vast and ever evolving. You got me out of my misery and so, I really really appreciate this video Tim!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Excellent!

[@marcusnatteldal5281]

I needed this today, thank you Tim

[@IAmTimCorey]

Happy to help!

[@codingwithgyver1637]

Thank you for this kind of content @Tim

[@IAmTimCorey]

It's my pleasure

[@verttix]

Great Video Tim! Thanks. I've been a developer for 23 years and still feel like I'm always trying to keep up. Started with Cold Fusion, the ASP. Web Forms, and MVC is what I've enjoyed the most. Now with .NET CORE, I'm learning again. I work in an environment where we have two web servers in a front end. With .NET we used the Machine Key in the web.config to make sure everything worked across the two servers. Now with CORE, I'm learning about Data Protection and some shared network drive for the key.. and then my Impostor Syndrome kicks in lol. Great timing on this video.. Many thanks.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for sharing.

[@tonyverdin2366]

This video hit the nail on the head of the subject of imposter syndrome! I like the way you made it about developers and also how it applies to other disciplines.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thank you!

[@drodriguesaarlol]

Thanks for the message, after 11 years of coding I'm still caught myself thinking if I really know what I'm doing and your message was a great help.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Happy to help!

[@robsonkinoshita6342]

Brasil?

[@robsonkinoshita6342]

Achei que era só eu aqui hahah...

[@queenstownswords]

Thank you Tim. I have always thought about it this way - Doctors have a 'practice'.

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@robsonkinoshita6342]

Thank you! I'm just starting my career as a developer and this video really helps!

[@IAmTimCorey]

I’m glad!

[@TheXploree]

Thank you for this Tim and your other videos.. love from Philippines.

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@antoniomarcos5664]

Thank you, Tim. The key is this way to see me and accept what I do and know that I can't do everything: To Compare myself before and now having focus related to my learning and to practice all time to be better I can. God bless you. I could add: to avoid to try learning all at the same time. I find this is my biggest failure.

[@IAmTimCorey]

That's a good tip.

[@jamilvillones5020]

Thank you for this Tim!

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@shmupful]

Hi Tim, and thank you for this wonderful channel, you've made leaning today's technologies simple and clear! When I started programming years ago, I used to feel like that all the time, and went in and out of programming because of it... I wish someone told me this back then.. this lesson is very important in every learned subject!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for sharing.

[@azuremagic]

Great video Tim!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks!

[@neilvermeulen5283]

Thank you Tim. You spoke directly into my life right now.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Awesome!

[@arne1881]

Clicked this video because of interesting topic. I am now motivated. Thank you, Tim! Love your videos and courses.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Glad to hear it!

[@dantichri5t]

I have no idea why this 2 years old video was suggested to me as I haven't searched for anything related to the topic... However this is so relevant to what I'm going through at the moment it was like when people believe people on TV are talking directly to them ( I know you're not, I'm not that far gone yet ). It really helped :-) So here's a thank you from 2 years in the future

[@IAmTimCorey]

Awesome! I’m glad it was helpful.

[@simon-white]

Definitely beneficial knowing 'writes code' is enough of a definition for 'developer'. This used to be a big problem, but your advice helped me see it in a humorous light. I'm constantly looking at code I wrote a few months ago and thinking "Egads! What a mess! I could've done this, that, and the other to improve it...", I find it quite amusing every time that happens and find it helps me reflect on my growth rate. Probably a bigger problem now is wanting to build custom apps to solve problems, but can be difficult to get the go ahead from management when minimal experience makes it's difficult to estimate time from inception to completion. Seems the only remedy is continued practice on mini projects.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Time estimation is practically useless as a developer for anything over about 2 days in length. After that, it is just wild guesses. That is why it is extra-helpful to break projects down into small bits, and work in a more agile manner.

[@simon-white]

That's interesting, just read an article titled evidence based scheduling by Joel Spolsky which supports your 2 day idea - he suggests each broken down project item should have no more than a 16 hour estimate (otherwise it needs to be broken down further). He also notes tracking history can show accuracy of a developer's estimations. If you know a project is likely going to be more than 2 day's work, I can't imagine you'd tell a client you have no idea how long it'll take; I'd be interested to know how you handle such circumstances. I guess going on the Agile idea, you could give them a rough breakdown of potential times/outcomes per sprint. It makes me wonder how people like game developers can say "it'll be ready for release in summer next year" I guess they also have to just look at the track record of their developers and just make sure priorities are completed first to guarantee the project can be called "complete", no matter its state at the deadline.

[@sagaragola5414]

Thank you Tim for everything you did for C# developer. Can you please cover microservices? How do they work? What are the advantages? When to use them and when not to

[@IAmTimCorey]

I have added it to the list. Thanks for the question.

[@JohanKermitBoback7204]

This is spot on, right on money the way I feel. Thanks a million for this video Tim!! It totally helped me. Gonna watch this one two times a week. Haha!!

[@IAmTimCorey]

You're so welcome!

[@recepcakir4866]

Tim, you are the best thing that can ever happen to a developer. I feel so lucky to discover you!!

[@IAmTimCorey]

I'm glad you are enjoying the content.

[@stewarthyde5111]

Tim, I feel that you are not impostor, because your videos help have help me. Just over too months ago I could be doing what I doing now. Maybe impostor is not the real subject but feeling stagnated. Before that I was in restaurant software development (C++/.Net) for 24 years just comfortable doing same job. Yes I advance software development, but was limited to older (almost 2 decade) hardware and even Embedded XP. One thing don't discredit your older videos, I learned a lot ( as I would believe others ) have learn a lot from them.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for sharing. I will probably cover stagnation in a future video. I appreciate the kind words.

[@cloverbluebell5612]

This actually hits really close. I used to think like this during my final year SD dissertation. I used to feel I wasn't good enough compared to my course mates. Still felt like that when job hunting for my job. Though I still had two areas during my course that I felt better than others. As Tim said there will always be someone better than you so all you need to do is put in effort to improve yourself. Others will know if you have done your part even if to you it seems like you haven't.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for sharing!

[@xxwarpigxx]

Thanks, I really needed this

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@Sulmanification]

Thanks for this. Its good to know it's common. What I suffer from also is the dread of how long I might need to spend learning something versus an intense desire to get whatever I'm working on done as quickly as possible. I call this the creeping dread.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Well, hopefully some of my tutorials can get you up to speed faster than normal.

[@Sulmanification]

@@IAmTimCorey Absolutely, thanks again, I really find these helpful.

[@adamonjourney3726]

Thank you, thank you, thank you... it feels so good to hear that. It helps so much.

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are so welcome

[@henriquepalomo2653]

I was feeling like this for years. I just wish I could've seen this video before. I was stuck in a project where I had to build loads of SSRS reports, and I became really good at it. But in the meantime, my collegues were improving their development skills working in different projects. They used to make jokes and say mean things, and I used to feel terrible about it. Unfortunately(or fortunate) today I know everything that you mean in this video, but I learned it in the hardest way. If you are reading my comment and you like development, you are an artist and I wish all the best to you.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for sharing.

[@TheBlueYodelingDad]

As much as I've enjoyed and learned from your code-centric videos, this one was extra valuable. I often do look back at my code from months ago and cringe, but sometimes I see something I did that was really clever which also helps. Looking back is really helpful, though, even looking back and reflecting over the past five or ten years. I'm not sure I'd be able to own up to some of the code I produced during my first couple of years as a developer twenty years ago. Yikes! Thanks for this video; your perspective was super helpful.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I am glad it was helpful.

Hello Tim, I really have many moments when I feel like this, thank you very much for the advice, it is nice to see that even though there is no master answer there is a way to know how much I have grown. Thanks Tim. P.S. I am from the Dominican Republic and I do not speak English, I can only read it more or less well, so I use Google Translate. Sorry for any bad translation from Spanish. ;)

[@IAmTimCorey]

Excellent! I am glad it was helpful.

[@RazorReznik]

A very good therapy! Thanks, Tim!

[@IAmTimCorey]

I am glad it was helpful.

[@youtube.com-handle]

Dear Tim the reason i watch your videos is that you eliminate the skill difference between you and the viewer, i first picked it when i watched your Caliburn micro video, i thought wow this is amazing its like watching myself learn something, and that was the reason why i subscribed. yes, it is inspiring to see someone juggle their code and update it on the go, but watching you doing something on air and learn about it, is simply inspiring. please take this the positive way. so, thank you

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@raymundoroman2713]

Thanks a lot, this video comes up on a perfect timing to me. Really really thank you.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Glad it was helpful!

[@johnhillescobar]

I needed to hear your message today. Thanks a lot. I struggle a lot with this syndrome.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I’m glad it was so helpful. Hang in there. It will get better. Just keep moving forward.

[@johnhillescobar]

@@IAmTimCorey Thank you so much!!

[@krishnaprasads22]

Wow thanks tim, I was struggling with this for a long time and seeing this video that to with so many comments, made me realize that I am not alone with this. You are the best :) Now I feel a lot better, yes it is a journey and there is no destination, I will compare me with the old me and not anyone else. Other problem I face is I feel I will be fired from the job, I talked to many friends who feel the same. But when checked with colleagues they say I do good, even awards given to me reflect that I am really doing good. But again the feeling starts pouring in "I will be fired". Let me know if even that's a common feeling :(

[@MrDmac09]

I also have this fear of getting fired. It's always in the back of my mind that I am going to be exposed for not knowing something my boss feels that I should, or not doing something well enough for my boss or the company and getting fired for it. I'm very interested to hear what Tim thinks of this fear.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I will add that suggestion to my list. That fear is a common one. It helps if you can open up a good feedback channel with your boss. Annual evaluations are horrible. At my last company, we did monthly evaluations so that there were no surprises. If I was struggling, I would know my boss is concerned months before anything official happened. That way, I could work to fix it rather than just find out that I had been messing up for months. This also gave me an opportunity to talk to my boss about any issues I had with him or the company. Again, instead of me being increasingly angry for months before I exploded, he would hear about it early on and could address it. These techniques take good management, but they can be things that you ask from your boss. Bosses want you to succeed. Your success is their success. Yes, some bosses are horrible and don't get that perspective, but most at least grasp it. See if you can start the conversation. Start it with something like "I want to make sure I am meeting or exceeding your expectations. Do you think you and I could check in every month or so to see how I am doing? That way I can be sure to make any improvements more quickly."

[@adamyang4268]

Hi Tim, thank you so much for this video. I just changed my job recently and the project I am working on is a C# project. I'm new to this ecosystem and just start to learn C# & .net stuff. My boss always says the programming language stuff is easy to grab, it won't take more than 2 weeks. I had huge pressure on the wrap-up process. Your videos helped me a lot. If my boss could think everything just like what you are sharing here, I would have much less pressure. Fortunately, I survived! Thanks again and look forward to seeing more videos on your channel. Take care!

[@IAmTimCorey]

That is rough. I definitely disagree with your boss. Just learning the language might take a couple of (intense) weeks if you were already an advaced-level developer in Java or another similar OOP language, but even then you would be missing a lot and applying principles to C# that aren't the best in an attempt to do what you knew in the other language.

[@higherpurpose1212]

@Adam Yang, yes there are bosses like that, just like my manager now. For him, everything is easy, though he's not even a developer but came from a project management background. The pressure is always there to complete everything in a sprint, and if you are assigned on a particular system that you don't know anything about, he will still expect a timely delivery target date. That's why now I'm in so much pressure to learn everything about MVC, Node, Express, Mongodb and React, so I can leave this company even if it pays a lot, even willing to go jobless for many months next year.

[@michaelschneider603]

Had a similar experience after almost 20 years of Java programming: everyone's telling you it's basically the same language. But during learning C# I made for myself a list of language features that are significantly (not just superficially) different between the two languages and arrived at over 50 such features! That together with having indeed quite a similar look made the switch harder for me than, say, switching to an entirely differen programming paradigm like functional programming (I know what I'm talking about here.) Apart from that, after having become sufficiently good for my new project with C# programming, I'd noticed that this was not more than 1% of what it takes me to succeed in my project work (although it's of course a necessary 1%). And another thing to all those "learning a programming language should only be a matter of weeks" folks: Learning the chess rules is about a hundred+ times easier than learning the syntax and semantics of a modern programming language, but one would have to be completely ignorant to claim that you could become a profesionally competitive chess player within a couple of weeks or months - even if you come with a lot of experience with Go. :)

[@BarneyMyBoy]

I've been writing code for many years, but always got a feeling that I'm not good enough. Thanks for this video clearing my mind that I'm not alone. Tim, you are the coolest Developer.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I am glad it was encouraging.

[@bujin1977]

Thanks for this video. I'm definitely someone who feels a bit like an imposter at times. I think it's because I am effectively a lone developer in a large organisation that doesn't have any organisational practices for application development, so I have no one to learn from, and no one to tell me I'm doing things wrong. Perhaps that shouldn't be an issue, but it feels like it for me. I've built plenty of applications and rarely get any negative feedback from the people who use them (especially compared to the commercially developed software the staff have to use, although those applications are, of course, a lot more complicated than the small apps I build!). But I do worry that if I was to look for another job that I'd feel like an imposter again! I have to say that I've learned a hell of a lot from your videos though. They've definitely helped to make me a much better developer over the last couple of years.

[@IAmTimCorey]

It is definitely valid to feel that way. Feedback is valuable, so when you don't get it, it can be hard to know where you are at. Keep improving, though, and you will be fine.

[@toddcox8436]

Very helpful. Thank you for this video.

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@chloem.872]

Great video :) I think it's healthy to recognize these feelings and talk about them openly with others on this journey. I am currently a student about halfway through my CS degree. I struggle with feeling like it's time to get something out there, that my CS degree will not be enough. I feel like I need to *do* something, something that is actually a "thing," even though I don't really know what that means. I strongly desire to have a project on my github that I can say *I* put together from everything I've learned so far, from start to finish. I want to know more and do more, without having a specific direction in mind. Lately I've been immersing myself in webdev and aim to get something up related to that. But the ultimate goal is to have at least a project for every language/framework/OS/younameit I can get my hands on, similar to what you mentioned in the video (but now I'm thinking I need more than just one). Maybe it seems ambitious, but the feeling persists and drives me to a level of dedication I hope will serve me in the future.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I have a couple of recommendations. First, learn one language deeply before spreading yourself too wide ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioDLi4RtbLt0atk ). I know college pushes the opposite but your professors aren't always right. Second, here are some ways to get work experience before you get a job: www.iamtimcorey.com/blog/32437/csharp-work-experience

[@chloem.872]

@@IAmTimCorey I can see the wisdom in learning something deeply and well. I think the fear is, what if I invest all my time into learning the microsoft stack with the hopes of getting a job at microsoft, only to be rejected and find that other jobs looking for those skills aren't what I want to do?

[@johnbury9995]

Tim, you left me speechless, thanks man, for everything.

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@TheIcecoldorange]

thank you for this! when i first started, i felt like an imposter because i didn't understand why the codebase was the way it was so i felt like it was too advance for me. Then eventually, as i developed more experience, i realized that i didn't understand the codebase, not because i was an impostor with no experience, but because it was spaghetti as there were so many design patterns implemented that do the same thing. For example, some pages were using backbone.js while others were using vanilla js, with some using jquery. Also, the DAL had BOTH an Ado AND Entity Framework implemented. A lot of times, you're not understanding the code, not because it's too advanced, but because the codebase hasn't been properly maintained.

[@IAmTimCorey]

That is definitely true. Thanks for sharing.

[@diegoavendano8165]

Excellent video dude, it helps me a lot...😁👍

[@IAmTimCorey]

Glad to hear it!

[@overclockk]

Thanks Tim! I appreciate you!

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@BobcatSchneidermann]

Thanks Sir. I needed to hear that.

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are very welcome

[@th30519]

This resonates with me so much. A good friend and I joke about "one day they'll find out" (that we're impostors). The struggle is real. Thank you for your insight. And on top of that, there are hints that a major re-write to my company's main product may change the technology stack. The new manager says "Think of yourselves as 'Technology professionals', not 'C# developers. If you're a good C# developer, you will be a good Language X developer'. " I've been doing C# for 15+ years and have become fairly comfortable, but still have a lot to learn. To switch out for Java or a primarily JS Framework would be a large undertaking, despite my level of comfort and experience with C#. Any advice how to handle this struggle?

[@IAmTimCorey]

It will be a struggle and you will lose a lot of expertise at first. However, after a while you will find that you get better at it and it starts to make sense. Programming is mostly about logic, not the language. Learning the language will be a big initial barrier, but after that, I think you will find it becomes a lot easier because you are applying the same type of logic, just in a different language.

[@sayandaw]

On a Sunday, struggling with the exact same thing. How fck'ed am I thinking about this on a Sunday, thinking Monday come, I may not know all that I want to ! This made my day ! Thank you man ! Keep making them, I love your videos and I am grown a lot since !

[@IAmTimCorey]

I am glad it was so helpful.

[@wajdizayani1658]

thank you Tim for this videos. It's like I am speaking to myself. I've been struggling with some voices inside my head telling me you are not enough good, you are too slow you are not going to make it and bla bla bla... Thank you for saving my year As a suggestion of topic if still not discussed yet : is it interesting to get a microsoft C# certifications and what certifications ?

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for the idea, I added it to my suggested topics list.

[@bobclemens8065]

I find that often even when I know something, I lose time trying to remember the exact syntax of things, and wind up routing through old apps to see how I did it. So now I store commonly used code patterns such as, for example, ajax calling conventions in JQuery, etc, in a note taking app (I use Evernote). I tag these notes as "code templates" so I can bring them all up quickly, and the idea is I can copy and paste as a starting point for modification in the current app.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Yep, that is a good practice. I do something similar.

[@AanDahliansyah]

Hi Tim, I'm using c# since 2003. I don't have any certification but coding is my life. I like all of your videos. And keep it going, man. All things you say are like me 100% since I'm learning it by myself.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for sharing!

[@brianhoskins1979]

Do you ever get that feeling when someone asks to see the code for a project you worked on and you think... oh, no! I don't want you to see it 'cause that's not the good stuff! The stuff I'm doing now is the good stuff! Of course, the stuff you're doing now is also not the good stuff in another 12 months! I work with some very clever people and I do suffer imposter syndrome from time to time. I do have to acknowledge that some of the people I work with are simply cleverer than me. But hey... if you're the smartest person in the room? In the wrong room.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I still get that feeling (and I put my code in videos). I hate being wrong but I continuously tell myself that feedback makes me better and that is a good thing. I just need to remember that my code is not me. People can criticize my code (and that is good to do) but they aren’t criticizing me (and if they are, I ignore them). Glad you enjoyed the video.

[@rik0904]

to this day I what to burn every line of my code from first year of work.

[@KennethLongcrier]

I don't know how many times I look at Blame on something I'm fixing and have one of those 🤦‍♂️ moments when I realize I did was the root cause of the issue I'm fixing.

[@tongyinwang215]

Yes, similar feeling. After many years of coding, I still feel my previous code not good enough.

[@michaelschneider603]

I know this feeling, but in my current project we have a (serious) code review process that has largely removed that problem, because now there will always be someone looking at my project code, for all of my code. And I am getting the chance of discussing some problematic parts and to improve on others.

[@chaudharykinjal8549]

I think this is the best motivational video for any developer. Thanks a lot Tim.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Glad you think so!

[@andyhunt5150]

Thanks, dude. I needed that.

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are most welcome.

[@mk553]

Good topic, thanks for sharing this.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for watching!

[@Sam-qe8uh]

Great speech. Very applicable to any areas of life.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thank you!