When Everyone Else Seems Ahead: Dealing with Imposter Syndrome in Tech

Realizing where I stand For the longest time, I had no real sense of where I stood in the tech world. I used to believe I was in the top 10% of people my age in this industry—after all, I had been coding for years and had a decent grasp of things. I assumed that after two years in the field, I’d be making a lot of money and would have become an expert. But the reality was far from that. I lacked exposure. I had no real benchmark to compare myself to. That changed when I decided to step out of my bubble and join platforms like X (Twitter), Peerlist, and Reddit. That’s when I truly realized how far I still had to go. I saw developers younger than me building incredible things, launching startups, and mastering technologies I hadn’t even touched. That’s when imposter syndrome kicked in. Just because I was doing better than my peers in college didn’t mean I was doing well in the grand scheme of things. The world of tech is vast, and for the first time, I understood how much more there was to learn. The Voice of Imposter Syndrome Spending time on X (Twitter) changed the way I viewed my work—but not in a good way. No matter what I built, a voice in my head kept saying, “Anyone can do this.” Even when I knew I had put in real effort, it never felt like enough. I wanted to create something truly great, but imposter syndrome made me question whether I ever could. Growing up, my family always had high expectations for me. They believed I would do something remarkable, and they still do. But the truth is, they don’t really know where I stand in this industry. Meanwhile, that inner voice kept growing louder, feeding my doubts and making me feel like I wasn’t measuring up. But at some point, I decided I had enough. I wasn’t going to let imposter syndrome dictate my journey. It was time to make a change. The Turning Point: Building Something That Challenged Me One day, I came across a post by Kevin Naughton on X about imposter syndrome. He said something along the lines of: "You deal with imposter syndrome by doing something you've never done before." I don’t remember the exact words, but that message stuck with me. It made me realize that the only way to silence imposter syndrome was to push beyond my comfort zone. So, I decided to start building projects that truly challenged me. I had always wanted to learn animations but kept putting it off. Finally, I took the leap and built StackBits—the first project I’m genuinely proud of. I even tried marketing it, and while it didn’t take off the way I hoped, I still learned a lot from the process. At the same time, I saw developers building incredible things with AI, and I didn’t want to just watch from the sidelines. I wanted to dive in, understand how everything worked, and create something unique. That led me to start building ReadMeChef, an AI-powered tool to generate README files. It’s turning out well—the MVP is live, and I’m now revamping the UI. Shifting My Mindset After two to three months of consistently working on projects that challenged me, I started noticing a shift. My confidence grew, and for the first time, I felt like I was getting closer to where I wanted to be. I finally felt like I was on the right path, and I was all in. I no longer fear failure—I embrace it. Every setback is just another lesson, another stepping stone toward success. More importantly, imposter syndrome doesn’t hold me back anymore. Instead of feeling discouraged by other people’s work, I now feel inspired. Seeing what’s possible only fuels my drive to build things I once thought I couldn’t. Lastly, If you ever feel like you're falling behind or drifting away from your path, just know that you're not alone my friend. Step up, give it your all, and put in the work—because this is your one and only life. Make the most of it. I hope this article inspires you to keep pushing forward. I’m always up for a chat! Whether you want to talk about tech, share your journey, or just say hi, feel free to reach out. I’m also open to new opportunities and collaborations. You can find me on my socials through my portfolio. Let’s connect!

Mar 29, 2025 - 10:48

When Everyone Else Seems Ahead: Dealing with Imposter Syndrome in Tech

Realizing where I stand

For the longest time, I had no real sense of where I stood in the tech world. I used to believe I was in the top 10% of people my age in this industry—after all, I had been coding for years and had a decent grasp of things. I assumed that after two years in the field, I’d be making a lot of money and would have become an expert. But the reality was far from that.

I lacked exposure. I had no real benchmark to compare myself to. That changed when I decided to step out of my bubble and join platforms like X (Twitter), Peerlist, and Reddit. That’s when I truly realized how far I still had to go. I saw developers younger than me building incredible things, launching startups, and mastering technologies I hadn’t even touched. That’s when imposter syndrome kicked in.

Just because I was doing better than my peers in college didn’t mean I was doing well in the grand scheme of things. The world of tech is vast, and for the first time, I understood how much more there was to learn.

The Voice of Imposter Syndrome

Spending time on X (Twitter) changed the way I viewed my work—but not in a good way. No matter what I built, a voice in my head kept saying, “Anyone can do this.” Even when I knew I had put in real effort, it never felt like enough. I wanted to create something truly great, but imposter syndrome made me question whether I ever could.

Growing up, my family always had high expectations for me. They believed I would do something remarkable, and they still do. But the truth is, they don’t really know where I stand in this industry. Meanwhile, that inner voice kept growing louder, feeding my doubts and making me feel like I wasn’t measuring up.

But at some point, I decided I had enough. I wasn’t going to let imposter syndrome dictate my journey. It was time to make a change.

The Turning Point: Building Something That Challenged Me

One day, I came across a post by Kevin Naughton on X about imposter syndrome. He said something along the lines of:
"You deal with imposter syndrome by doing something you've never done before."

I don’t remember the exact words, but that message stuck with me. It made me realize that the only way to silence imposter syndrome was to push beyond my comfort zone. So, I decided to start building projects that truly challenged me.

I had always wanted to learn animations but kept putting it off. Finally, I took the leap and built StackBits—the first project I’m genuinely proud of. I even tried marketing it, and while it didn’t take off the way I hoped, I still learned a lot from the process.

At the same time, I saw developers building incredible things with AI, and I didn’t want to just watch from the sidelines. I wanted to dive in, understand how everything worked, and create something unique. That led me to start building ReadMeChef, an AI-powered tool to generate README files. It’s turning out well—the MVP is live, and I’m now revamping the UI.

Shifting My Mindset

After two to three months of consistently working on projects that challenged me, I started noticing a shift. My confidence grew, and for the first time, I felt like I was getting closer to where I wanted to be. I finally felt like I was on the right path, and I was all in.

I no longer fear failure—I embrace it. Every setback is just another lesson, another stepping stone toward success. More importantly, imposter syndrome doesn’t hold me back anymore. Instead of feeling discouraged by other people’s work, I now feel inspired. Seeing what’s possible only fuels my drive to build things I once thought I couldn’t.

Lastly, If you ever feel like you're falling behind or drifting away from your path, just know that you're not alone my friend. Step up, give it your all, and put in the work—because this is your one and only life. Make the most of it. I hope this article inspires you to keep pushing forward.

I’m always up for a chat! Whether you want to talk about tech, share your journey, or just say hi, feel free to reach out. I’m also open to new opportunities and collaborations. You can find me on my socials through my portfolio. Let’s connect!