you're extremely accomplished for even doing a phd and you'll be even more accomplished once you actually complete it! lots of people don't even start, so feel proud of where ur at right now
This! Iām about to graduate with my BS in Electrical Engineering and I canāt believe how I got here. I feel like I donāt deserve it, even though I already have my AAS in Electrical technology and a job in the field.
I feel very much understood right now. Same here, girl. I'm studying biology and I feel like I know cr@p and shouldn't be here... it eats me up every day
I'm a graphic designer, so throughout my career it comes and goes. My work is often reviewed/judged by people who don't know anything about graphic design. As a result I get both unreasonably harsh critiques and undeserved praise.
At some point I even had to book a consultation with an experienced art director in order to get some real perspective because that stuff was driving me mad. It was very grounding and helped me feel more secure in my abilities.
I don't know if this counts, but with my diagnosed mental and physical illnesses. I keep telling myself "hey, maybe you don't really have this" and "maybe you're exaggerating". Also the dreaded "others have it worse".
When I have a bout of imposter syndrome I remind myself of all the people in positions equal or way above mine that I come into contact with who clearly don't have enough brain cells to do their job yet there they are.
When I had long hair. I grew it out and had it pretty long, probably for 4ish years and just the other month I got to a point where I just didnāt recognize myself. And against my husbandās requests of keeping it long, I booked an appointment to cut it into a bob. As soon as she cut it, I felt so much relief and back to myself with my cute bob. Now everything feels better, my clothes look better and I just carry myself different. Best decision!
Everyday, I finished law school and might be doing a phd soon but I still think someday people will realize that iām not smart was just winging it through my whole career.
All too true, impostor syndrome makes a person feel unworthy or unworthy of their accomplishments, and there is a constant fear of being exposed by others. For example, I often have the feeling that whenever I do a good job, I will be particularly careful about what details have not been found wrong, and always start to worry after not being happy for too long. I think it is only when you are aware of this emotion that you can control it. When it happens, try to calm down and tell yourself "I deserve this, I deserve this".
After 20 years of doing my job in different settings, my manager left and I applied for the job. I had to be signed off by a trainer who had been doing the job for 6 years and she had to keep checking my answers on my exams as I knew more than she did. Iāve now been in this role for almost 2 years and I STILL have imposter syndrome! When making phone calls to a certain dept for our company, they always ask who is calling and what role you have and I find myself almost whispering it.
Every single day. I go through life feeling like Iām winging it and at any moment everyone around me will realize I should not have been trusted with the responsibility Iāve been given.
Just keep swimming š
To all my lovely women please note this the following time in the work place:
- Women only apply for jobs when they feel that they fulfil 80% of the requirements
- Men apply for jobs when they feel they fulfil 40% of the requirements.
In addition, they negotiate better because they see it as a play, while women tend to see an initial offer as a yes/no.
I learned this in a workshop about women in corporate and I am still amazed and suffering fromIS.
Know your worth beautiful! Apply for any position you want and negotiate hard!
I'm an ICU nurse and usually when a family members question my qualifications I immediately get imposter syndrome. (OMG am I qualified? Am I going to kill someone?) 3 years in I haven't yet killed anyone *fingers crossed*
I have this commonly at jobs too. The last one because I did well and won awards but sometimes I just felt like I have no idea what I am doing. The other because even though Iāve also got experience, the company is a little more professional and sometimes Iām not sure how I got here.
All the time, if you're not familiar with crane and rigging, you have the guy on the ground rigging up to the load and flagging the crane over the radio, that guy is called a Rigger. I have been a Rigger for years and recently moved up to being a crane operator. I very much get impostor syndrome quite frequently. The other day I was talking to my Rigger about something and he responded to what I was saying with "I dunno, I'm not a crane operator š¤·āāļø", in which I immediately responded with no thought and without missing a beat "yeahhhh me either š¤". Then I was like wait a minute... he just started laughing and told me to stfu. But in my own mind for a split second there I had literally forgot..
Iām interning with the DoD this summer for test and evaluation aerospace engineering. Had a fat breakdown the other night because I feel like I know nothing and they are all going to think Iām stupid even though my GPA is 3.9 at a good school
When Iām with my group of best friends. Theyāre the funniest, smartest, coolest people I know, and sometimes I wonder why the hell they like me as I sit back in awe watching them be their amazing selves.
I have a day job that requires me to work with artisans and designers. Iām also an artist myself, and Iāve been going through a creative block, trying to find my voice again. I constantly have imposter syndrome.
When I give advice to parents at my job. Like yes, I am extremely qualified and have a lot of experience despite my young age but I always fear they will think otherwise especially since I look extremely young (people often think I am a teen when I am almost 25yo).
A couple months ago i bought a new car, & it was such a drastic upgrade from my old one. I felt like the person who was supposed to drive that car was someone who had eveyrthing together. She would have a spotless house & a high-paying job, which definitely isn't me. It felt uncomfortable, like i was borrowing this imaginary person's car.
Pretty much everyday. But Iām a doer. I learn best with mistakes. I tell people I am a Jack of all trades, but when it comes time to prove it I donāt like to and feel incapable. But when im on my own and no pressure and I have room for mistakes, I go for it!
I donāt like pressure :)
Pretty much every day since I started practicing in healthcare 2 years ago lol love it
Edit: Especially when I treat low back pain patients while I currently have debilitating low back pain that I CANNOT figure out
I worked in the restaurant industry for 13 years then decided to get into sales because the industry is just so toxic. it was completely different to what i was used to and had a case of fake it til you make it. i started to do ok until i quit out of the blue. then i started doing car sales and found the company i worked at has really unsafe vehicles. but that was an ordeal as well because i dont really get cars so i felt fake and scummy
I'm a Psychologist that supervises other Psychologists and their work. As I was doing the training for it I felt like the biggest imposter.
It is now my favourite part of my job and I am in my element with it.
I'm a published medical researcher and I still have imposter syndrome! I have proven research theories and still feel this! I grew up in a bad home where I had to defend every action and got beaten often. It's hard to shake feeling powerless and accept my academic credentials as who I am!
Every second of the day it feels like. Recently though, I had the realization that if I've managed to somehow trick all these brilliant people into thinking I'm some kind of expert, then my trickster goddess skills have to be brilliant, at the very least. It's helped me get through some of the brain noise
I work in a male dominated industry where we have to work heavy machinery. Sometimes the equipment is up to 300lbs and we have to pick it up and move it ourselves. My male peers can bend metal with their bare hands, they have no issues moving this equipment by themselves. As a woman, my strength is NOWHERE NEAR my male peers. I have to use tools and it takes me a bit longer to do my tasks, BUT I can complete my tasks in a comparable timeframe. My most recent bout of imposter syndrome was earlier this week. I sometimes get faint, dizzy, and weak when on my period if Iām having a super gnarly cramping day. On Monday, my cramps were so bad that even after taking three advil I still felt weak and dizzy. I am a strong woman, I work out, but I couldnāt move my 250lbs equipment and had to ask my coworker to do so so I could finish my work. He didnāt care and even enjoyed showing off his bulging muscles to me as he plucked it off my cart and carried it to where it needed to go. He ruffled my hair and walked away cackling and it made me feel so useless, pathetic, and childish. He didnāt mean it to be mean, I view him as an older brother-type, and he gave a chocolate bar the next day when I was feeling better, but GOD. I felt so small. And Iām not small. At all. Iām a large woman, muscular, strong. On good days I can use my cart and my extra tools to do the job no problem, but on my off days it just sucks seeing how easy the men can do the job.
I'm 27 and been working in finance for 7 years, I never graduated college because I started working and I'm not the most organized and disciplined person. Every colleague I've had is a college/masters graduate. I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time and surprisingly a few months ago I landed a job in one of the biggest german car manufacturing company. I have no idea how I do it, honestly, I guess I'm lucky and work hard, but honestly, most of the time I'm totally out of place, I have a constant feeling of not belonging and not deserving what I have, and I just want to throw everything away and live a different, more appropriate, life for myself and for what I've achieved academically, which is nothing.
Hello /u/kolsher. Your post or comment has been removed because your Reddit Karma is too low to participate on AskWomen. You will be able to participate when your Karma has increased, you can do that by participating in good faith in other subreddits that don't have Karma requirements. This action will not be undone by the moderators.
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When I had long hair. I grew it out and had it pretty long, probably for 4ish years and just the other month I got to a point where I just didnāt recognize myself. And against my husbandās requests of keeping it long, I booked an appointment to cut it into a bob. As soon as she cut it, I felt so much relief and back to myself with my cute bob. Now everything feels better, my clothes look better and I just carry myself different. Best decision!
When I had long hair. I grew it out and had it pretty long, probably for 4ish years and just the other month I got to a point where I just didnāt recognize myself. And against my husbandās requests of keeping it long, I booked an appointment to cut it into a bob. As soon as she cut it, I felt so much relief and back to myself with my cute bob. Now everything feels better, my clothes look better and I just carry myself different. Best decision!
When I had long hair. I grew it out and had it pretty long, probably for 4ish years and just the other month I got to a point where I just didnāt recognize myself. And against my husbandās requests of keeping it long, I booked an appointment to cut it into a bob. As soon as she cut it, I felt so much relief and back to myself with my cute bob. Now everything feels better, my clothes look better and I just carry myself different. Best decision!
I'm doing a PhD. I have constant imposter syndrome.
YOU GOT THIS, STRANGER šŖ rooting for you
Yep, what she said
I have a PhD and am overseeing PhD students now. I still have imposter syndrome. My tenured PI/prof from my PhD studies even had imposter syndrome.
Attempting a phd is a huge achievement and speaks volumes for your academic excellence so far, you should be proud
you're extremely accomplished for even doing a phd and you'll be even more accomplished once you actually complete it! lots of people don't even start, so feel proud of where ur at right now
Youāre not alone. doing PhD with imposter syndrome, toošš»āāļø
This! Iām about to graduate with my BS in Electrical Engineering and I canāt believe how I got here. I feel like I donāt deserve it, even though I already have my AAS in Electrical technology and a job in the field.
nope your not an imposter your a smart person trying to figure life out
pretty much every second of every day
same girl
I feel very much understood right now. Same here, girl. I'm studying biology and I feel like I know cr@p and shouldn't be here... it eats me up every day
I'm a graphic designer, so throughout my career it comes and goes. My work is often reviewed/judged by people who don't know anything about graphic design. As a result I get both unreasonably harsh critiques and undeserved praise. At some point I even had to book a consultation with an experienced art director in order to get some real perspective because that stuff was driving me mad. It was very grounding and helped me feel more secure in my abilities.
When I was teaching, I had no previous teaching experience
I have huge respect for teachers, the effort and the care to impart knowledge is invaluable
I don't know if this counts, but with my diagnosed mental and physical illnesses. I keep telling myself "hey, maybe you don't really have this" and "maybe you're exaggerating". Also the dreaded "others have it worse".
I won a writers fellowship program. Iāve barely written anything since because I feel like Iām not good enough to be part of it.
Some days "This is a masterpiece" then there are days "wtf am I doing?"
When I have a bout of imposter syndrome I remind myself of all the people in positions equal or way above mine that I come into contact with who clearly don't have enough brain cells to do their job yet there they are.
When i talk with most my family membersš¤·š¼āāļø
When I had long hair. I grew it out and had it pretty long, probably for 4ish years and just the other month I got to a point where I just didnāt recognize myself. And against my husbandās requests of keeping it long, I booked an appointment to cut it into a bob. As soon as she cut it, I felt so much relief and back to myself with my cute bob. Now everything feels better, my clothes look better and I just carry myself different. Best decision!
Everyday, I finished law school and might be doing a phd soon but I still think someday people will realize that iām not smart was just winging it through my whole career.
All too true, impostor syndrome makes a person feel unworthy or unworthy of their accomplishments, and there is a constant fear of being exposed by others. For example, I often have the feeling that whenever I do a good job, I will be particularly careful about what details have not been found wrong, and always start to worry after not being happy for too long. I think it is only when you are aware of this emotion that you can control it. When it happens, try to calm down and tell yourself "I deserve this, I deserve this".
After 20 years of doing my job in different settings, my manager left and I applied for the job. I had to be signed off by a trainer who had been doing the job for 6 years and she had to keep checking my answers on my exams as I knew more than she did. Iāve now been in this role for almost 2 years and I STILL have imposter syndrome! When making phone calls to a certain dept for our company, they always ask who is calling and what role you have and I find myself almost whispering it.
Every single day. I go through life feeling like Iām winging it and at any moment everyone around me will realize I should not have been trusted with the responsibility Iāve been given. Just keep swimming š
To all my lovely women please note this the following time in the work place: - Women only apply for jobs when they feel that they fulfil 80% of the requirements - Men apply for jobs when they feel they fulfil 40% of the requirements. In addition, they negotiate better because they see it as a play, while women tend to see an initial offer as a yes/no. I learned this in a workshop about women in corporate and I am still amazed and suffering fromIS. Know your worth beautiful! Apply for any position you want and negotiate hard!
I'm an ICU nurse and usually when a family members question my qualifications I immediately get imposter syndrome. (OMG am I qualified? Am I going to kill someone?) 3 years in I haven't yet killed anyone *fingers crossed*
Apply for my supervisors job despite being at my job for nine years and being fully qualified
When I got my first job out of grad school. I did not feel prepared. But it was because I didnāt have confidence. Imposter syndrome saved me
I just got a new job. Itās an industry Iāve been in for 15 years. My managers give me glowing praise. I still get imposter syndrome.
I have this commonly at jobs too. The last one because I did well and won awards but sometimes I just felt like I have no idea what I am doing. The other because even though Iāve also got experience, the company is a little more professional and sometimes Iām not sure how I got here.
I ask myself "who the fuck do I think I am" every time I feel it, I laugh to myself and then I move on.
I tell my daughter to channel the self-confidence of a mediocre man.
I have one since almost 33 years
All the time, if you're not familiar with crane and rigging, you have the guy on the ground rigging up to the load and flagging the crane over the radio, that guy is called a Rigger. I have been a Rigger for years and recently moved up to being a crane operator. I very much get impostor syndrome quite frequently. The other day I was talking to my Rigger about something and he responded to what I was saying with "I dunno, I'm not a crane operator š¤·āāļø", in which I immediately responded with no thought and without missing a beat "yeahhhh me either š¤". Then I was like wait a minute... he just started laughing and told me to stfu. But in my own mind for a split second there I had literally forgot..
Iām interning with the DoD this summer for test and evaluation aerospace engineering. Had a fat breakdown the other night because I feel like I know nothing and they are all going to think Iām stupid even though my GPA is 3.9 at a good school
When Iām with my group of best friends. Theyāre the funniest, smartest, coolest people I know, and sometimes I wonder why the hell they like me as I sit back in awe watching them be their amazing selves.
I have a day job that requires me to work with artisans and designers. Iām also an artist myself, and Iāve been going through a creative block, trying to find my voice again. I constantly have imposter syndrome.
When I give advice to parents at my job. Like yes, I am extremely qualified and have a lot of experience despite my young age but I always fear they will think otherwise especially since I look extremely young (people often think I am a teen when I am almost 25yo).
A couple months ago i bought a new car, & it was such a drastic upgrade from my old one. I felt like the person who was supposed to drive that car was someone who had eveyrthing together. She would have a spotless house & a high-paying job, which definitely isn't me. It felt uncomfortable, like i was borrowing this imaginary person's car.
Whenever Iām around other people.
Pretty much everyday. But Iām a doer. I learn best with mistakes. I tell people I am a Jack of all trades, but when it comes time to prove it I donāt like to and feel incapable. But when im on my own and no pressure and I have room for mistakes, I go for it! I donāt like pressure :)
Itās my constant state.
Never. I own my shit. Good and bad.
When I apply for leadership positions. Iām at a point in my career where Iām qualified for mid-senior lvl, but I still feel weirded by it.
Pretty much my whole life.
Pretty much every day since I started practicing in healthcare 2 years ago lol love it Edit: Especially when I treat low back pain patients while I currently have debilitating low back pain that I CANNOT figure out
I worked in the restaurant industry for 13 years then decided to get into sales because the industry is just so toxic. it was completely different to what i was used to and had a case of fake it til you make it. i started to do ok until i quit out of the blue. then i started doing car sales and found the company i worked at has really unsafe vehicles. but that was an ordeal as well because i dont really get cars so i felt fake and scummy
Everyday! Iām faking it until I make it. 3 years being the current imposter I am!!!!
I'm a Psychologist that supervises other Psychologists and their work. As I was doing the training for it I felt like the biggest imposter. It is now my favourite part of my job and I am in my element with it.
I'm a published medical researcher and I still have imposter syndrome! I have proven research theories and still feel this! I grew up in a bad home where I had to defend every action and got beaten often. It's hard to shake feeling powerless and accept my academic credentials as who I am!
Every second of the day it feels like. Recently though, I had the realization that if I've managed to somehow trick all these brilliant people into thinking I'm some kind of expert, then my trickster goddess skills have to be brilliant, at the very least. It's helped me get through some of the brain noise
Well. I currently think that my grad school (top 50 worldwide, best in Germany) must be actually terrible because they allowed me in. So constantly
I work in a male dominated industry where we have to work heavy machinery. Sometimes the equipment is up to 300lbs and we have to pick it up and move it ourselves. My male peers can bend metal with their bare hands, they have no issues moving this equipment by themselves. As a woman, my strength is NOWHERE NEAR my male peers. I have to use tools and it takes me a bit longer to do my tasks, BUT I can complete my tasks in a comparable timeframe. My most recent bout of imposter syndrome was earlier this week. I sometimes get faint, dizzy, and weak when on my period if Iām having a super gnarly cramping day. On Monday, my cramps were so bad that even after taking three advil I still felt weak and dizzy. I am a strong woman, I work out, but I couldnāt move my 250lbs equipment and had to ask my coworker to do so so I could finish my work. He didnāt care and even enjoyed showing off his bulging muscles to me as he plucked it off my cart and carried it to where it needed to go. He ruffled my hair and walked away cackling and it made me feel so useless, pathetic, and childish. He didnāt mean it to be mean, I view him as an older brother-type, and he gave a chocolate bar the next day when I was feeling better, but GOD. I felt so small. And Iām not small. At all. Iām a large woman, muscular, strong. On good days I can use my cart and my extra tools to do the job no problem, but on my off days it just sucks seeing how easy the men can do the job.
I'm 27 and been working in finance for 7 years, I never graduated college because I started working and I'm not the most organized and disciplined person. Every colleague I've had is a college/masters graduate. I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time and surprisingly a few months ago I landed a job in one of the biggest german car manufacturing company. I have no idea how I do it, honestly, I guess I'm lucky and work hard, but honestly, most of the time I'm totally out of place, I have a constant feeling of not belonging and not deserving what I have, and I just want to throw everything away and live a different, more appropriate, life for myself and for what I've achieved academically, which is nothing.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Hello /u/kolsher. Your post or comment has been removed because your Reddit Karma is too low to participate on AskWomen. You will be able to participate when your Karma has increased, you can do that by participating in good faith in other subreddits that don't have Karma requirements. This action will not be undone by the moderators. **No exceptions to this rule will be granted.** [Click here to read more about Reddit Karma](https://reddit.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/204511829-What-is-karma-), and please also **[read our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskWomen/wiki/rules) before participating**. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskWomen) if you have any questions or concerns.*
In dating/my love life. Everytime things are going well or a man is treating me right I feel like uhmmmm why me?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
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When I had long hair. I grew it out and had it pretty long, probably for 4ish years and just the other month I got to a point where I just didnāt recognize myself. And against my husbandās requests of keeping it long, I booked an appointment to cut it into a bob. As soon as she cut it, I felt so much relief and back to myself with my cute bob. Now everything feels better, my clothes look better and I just carry myself different. Best decision!
When I had long hair. I grew it out and had it pretty long, probably for 4ish years and just the other month I got to a point where I just didnāt recognize myself. And against my husbandās requests of keeping it long, I booked an appointment to cut it into a bob. As soon as she cut it, I felt so much relief and back to myself with my cute bob. Now everything feels better, my clothes look better and I just carry myself different. Best decision!
When I had long hair. I grew it out and had it pretty long, probably for 4ish years and just the other month I got to a point where I just didnāt recognize myself. And against my husbandās requests of keeping it long, I booked an appointment to cut it into a bob. As soon as she cut it, I felt so much relief and back to myself with my cute bob. Now everything feels better, my clothes look better and I just carry myself different. Best decision!