Professional “imposters”. How to overcome imposter syndrome, and who makes it a day-to-day job?
Hey folks! I’m excited to share that our KIN app is now officially available on the App Store and Android.
KIN is your personal AI assistant — a friend, a guide, and someone who helps you navigate your work life.
Over the past months, I’ve poured my energy into building a safe space for you to express your fears, celebrate wins, and overcome challenges. Today, I want to dive into a topic many of us struggle with impostor syndrome. It’s an experience that hits intelligent, talented individuals harder than anyone might expect, especially those in tech. So, let’s explore it together.
Smart People Have Self-Doubt
Impostor syndrome is surprisingly common among smart, skilled professionals, particularly in fields like software development and IT. The irony is, the more capable and experienced people often suffer the most from self-doubt. Why is that?
We spend our careers in pursuit of mastery, but as we grow, the complexities of our work and the sheer vastness of our fields can amplify the feeling that we’re never good enough. As developers, we constantly learn new technologies, switch roles, or step into projects with entirely different challenges. This makes it all too easy to feel inadequate — like a fraud who doesn’t belong. You might look around at your peers and think they have it all figured out while you feel lost. But the truth is, many of them are just as uncertain. The feeling of not being good enough is often just the result of not knowing everything yet — and that’s okay.
Interestingly, I’ve noticed this is especially true for those who are truly capable. They are the ones who push themselves, strive to innovate, and aim to create something new, which inevitably means facing unknowns. This process can trigger doubt, but it’s precisely because they are at the forefront that they feel this way.
Navigating New Roles
One of the biggest triggers of impostor syndrome is stepping into a new role. Whether moving to a different project, joining a new company, or switching career paths altogether, the uncertainty can be overwhelming. When we change roles, we often leave behind the comfort of what we know well and enter a space filled with new challenges, expectations, and unknowns. This is especially true in tech, where rapid advancements and diverse domains mean that every role can feel vastly different from the last.
It’s common to feel like you’re not qualified enough, even when you are. New roles demand new skills, and the initial phase is often full of learning and adaptation. It’s okay to not have all the answers right away. The key is to embrace the learning curve, ask questions, and lean on your colleagues. Over time, what was once unknown becomes familiar, and you gain the confidence that seemed so elusive at the start.
Architects as Professional “Impostors”
Among all the roles in software engineering, there’s one that exemplifies the idea of being a professional impostor: the software architect. These individuals, particularly enterprise architects, work with the unknown almost every single day. They’re tasked with exploring new domains, designing solutions for entirely new problems, and building bridges where none existed before. Their job is not just to code but to pave the way forward for development teams.
When a software architect moves from one project to another, they enter different domains — sometimes even entirely different industries or tech stacks. It’s like starting from scratch repeatedly, learning about the business challenges and technical constraints that are unique to each project. They step into roles where the expectations are high, but the territory is uncharted.
It reminds me of a TV show I watched as a kid. The main character was an incredibly talented prodigy who could pick up entirely new skills, like piloting an airplane, with just a short amount of time. Architects are a bit like that. They need to immerse themselves quickly, learn fast, and then lead others. This is what makes them professional impostors — but it’s not a weakness. In fact, it’s an incredible strength.
The Strength of Being an “Impostor”
It’s important to recognize that feeling like an impostor can actually be a positive force. It means you’re constantly pushing the boundaries of your own knowledge. It means you’re brave enough to take on the unknown, even when it’s uncomfortable. When I first started developing KE, I knew little about personal knowledge graphs, running them on-device, or the complex data models we needed. But over time, I learned, applied that knowledge, and got to the point where I could even create content about it.
Software architects and senior engineers regularly operate in areas without clear definitions or existing solutions. They build knowledge from scratch, they innovate, and they work with others to make sense of what’s complex and unknown. To me, that’s what makes impostor syndrome a professional hazard, but also a sign of growth and courage.
When architects work in environments that are not defined, they’re responsible for managing ambiguity, navigating uncharted waters, and bringing clarity to the team. If it were something already well-defined, it wouldn’t be an architect’s job anymore — it would be up to the engineers to implement. The strength lies in embracing that discomfort and still finding a way forward.
Conclusion: Confidence Through Collaboration
If you feel like an impostor, remember that it doesn’t mean you’re not capable. It means you’re on the edge of something new, learning and adapting. The important thing is not to let self-doubt consume you to the point of paralysis. Work together with your colleagues, share what you’re learning, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Impostor syndrome is a natural part of growth, especially for those who dare to innovate.
To be a successful architect, developer, or tech professional, you don’t need to have all the answers — just the willingness to explore, learn, and share what you find with others. Let’s embrace being impostors together and make the unknown a little less daunting for everyone.
