Severe imposter syndrome, are my doubts warranted?

I don't know how much this helps, but somebody at that place thinks you have what it takes, or they wouldn't have put you in the position you're in if they didn't think you were competent.

Now with that said, I totally get the imposter syndrom feeling. Especially since you have to teach others, and you'll probably come across someone beneath you, who can work from memory better then you.

But ... while CEO's, COO's, or CTO's of some of the techyist of techy companies are bright individuals, they may not be the brightest of everyone there. Actually, I'd bet they're not the smartest, but that doesn't mean they can't lead confidently in those roles. They know how to be a leader, and that's not something that can be taught. Apparently, your work sees leadership quality in you.

For what it's worth, part of my job is a bit more IT then it is coding, and so I get asked often by my co-workers why this is doing that, or how to do this, or make it stop doing that. Whether it's windows, and android phone or iPhone, or a printer giving a problem. And often I don't just know the answer. I have to go look it up online - be it a forum, or stackoverflow, or another resource, but I always seem to figure it out after enough research, and that seems good enough for my work. I feel like you at time, like I should just know why this network printer is no longer able to find a particular client computer and scan a document to that workstation, but the truth always is I never know, and I have to go back and do some research on it.

My work never cares where or how I got my solution, only that I did. Your work is probably the same way. That's one reason I try to give back with my experience, or open source as much as I can - build on the help and information others have given to me.

Hope that helps.

When I was in school, the biggest lesson that one of my instructors told me, and drilled into mine and my classmates heads, is that a lot of being a developer is learning to become comfortable when lost. I don't want to speak for everyone, but I'm CONSTANTLY googling, grabbing code examples, and morphing them to what I need. Watching others, this seems to be a pretty common action. I wouldn't put any weight into that being a negative to your skillset.

I still haven't found that "I can do it" moment, but, my comfort in my position comes from accepting the fact that everything in our industry changes so much, it's not possible to know everything. Google is my friend, random strangers on the internet that are kind enough to answer questions and explain reasonings are my saving grace. I try and make an effort to spend as much time possible answering others questions that I can muster for that reason. It's a community.

I don't know if any of that helps ya, but, there's the 1.5 cents that popped into my head after reading your post.

Good luck!

Hi Ceribaines,

It's totally normal to freak out a bit, it's in human nature. What I want you to do is to relax, the people who put you in charge of that task believes in you, they didn't roll a dice and pick you that way.

Every single time I get a new project, I freak out a little bit. Because it's new and I haven't been there before. It always end up with me learning something, and feeling a lot more comfortable later on. All developers get stuck every now and then, and if you do while helping these people you're supposed to help then that could be a great opportunity for you to show them how you can work together to find a solution.

They promoted you because you deserved it, and because they think you're the right man for the job. It's normal to question it, to freak out a bit, but don't let it stop you.

I hope this helps, feel free to ask more questions if you have any

Jonas

Great advice from everyone - you can't possibly know everything, and as a technical lead, you've been identified as someone who knows 'enough' to hire those you can fill in the blanks. There's more to being a software developer than just pure skill in coding, and it's apparent your company feels the same way.

I read a Richard Branson quote the other day that's stuck with me - and I hope it helps you too:

“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it >later!”

I'm not saying be deceitful, but software programming is a skill that can be learned with enough time, dedication, and aptitude. Soft skills, such as being able to work with customers, work effectively with other technical professionals, and generally be a reliable associate are much harder to train, if at all, in a way that drives consistent results.

I say keep up the great work - it's obvious your skills and abilities are meeting the expectations of your company, and this presents an awesome opportunity to grow those skills.

Good luck!

Thanks,

Zac

Thanks to you all. You've made me feel more confortable with being uncomfortable! I'm taking it all on board and agree that working is often a lot more than just the code. Hopefully one day I will find some confidence in what I'm doing from somewhere. I'm hoping the new gang that will be joining me can teach me some stuff too! Thanks again everyone.

Im a student at the flatiron school currently for full stack....I can tell you with clarity that your fears mimic all of ours. One thing that has stuck with me through my doubts is that at the very beginning they said: no matter how much you learn, no matter how much we teach you, your first job will likely be tasked with something you have no idea how to do. The real key to becoming a good programmer is in being able to handle the unknown. How to navigate google, your resources, your previous knowledge and piece it together with trial and error until it works. Ive been doing this 40 hours a week for 3 months and I still feel like I cant write a complex line of code on my own for the life of me. Fake it till you make it!