Impostor syndrome can leave you feeling like you are a fraud and incompetent to be considered a professional in your chosen path. In reality, impostor syndrome is common and occurs when one struggles to internalize achievements and successes. Come feel a burden lifted when you realize that not only are you not an impostor, but you have actually succeeded in achieving something great. Hear about the experiences of others and how to overcome feeling like an impostor, and leave feeling confident in your accomplishments and skills.

1. Impostor Syndrome: Be Proud of
Your Achievements!
Mark Niebergall
https://joind.in/talk/15d2c

2. Thank You Sponsors

3. About Mark Niebergall
• PHP since 2005
• Masters degree in MIS
• Senior Software Engineer
• Drug screening project
• UPHPU President
• SSCP, CSSLP Certified and SME
• Drones, fishing, skiing, father, husband

4. Attend UPHPU!
• Pizza, pop, cookie brownies
• Meetup group https://www.meetup.com/Utah-PHP-
User-Group/
• July 13: OpenWest Review on Thursday 5:15-6pm
• August 17: Tom Anderson on Git
• September 21: PHP TestFest 2017
• October 21: Mark Niebergall on Defensive Coding
Crash Course
• November 16: Looking for a speaker

5. Impostor Syndrome

6. Impostor Syndrome
• Feeling you are an impostor around others
• Reaction to an experience
• Fear of being found out as not smart enough

7. Impostor Syndrome
• Running Cross-Country in High School

8. Impostor Syndrome
• Smoothie shop

9. Impostor Syndrome
• First IT job

10. Impostor Syndrome
• First Item Writing
• Certified in 2008
• Subject Matter Expert in 2011

11. Impostor Syndrome
• Speaker lounge at SkiPHP

12. Impostor Syndrome
• Talking tech

13. Impostor Syndrome
• Organizer of UPHPU

14. Impostor Syndrome
• The nano user

15. Impostor Syndrome
• Lunch with conference crowd

16. Impostor Syndrome
• Why did I tell you those experiences?
• Can you relate?
• Start thinking about experiences you have had

17. Impostor Syndrome

18. Impostor Syndrome
• My Experiences
• What impostor syndrome is
• Who experiences it
• How to handle the experiences
• Recognizing accomplishments

19. Impostor Syndrome
• What impostor syndrome is

20. Impostor Syndrome
• What impostor syndrome is
• Impostor vs Imposter
• Merriam-Webster: a person who pretends to be
someone else in order to deceive others, especially
for fraudulent gain

21. Impostor Syndrome
• What impostor syndrome is
• Impostor Phenomenon (IP)
• Impostor Experience
• Fraud Syndrome

22. Impostor Syndrome
• What impostor syndrome is
• Not a mental illness
• Not a personality trait

23. Impostor Syndrome
• What impostor syndrome is
• Reaction to an experience
• Fear of being exposed as a fraud

24. Impostor Syndrome
• What impostor syndrome is
• Just got lucky
• Good timing
• Deceiving others
• Fraud hiding amongst others

25. Impostor Syndrome
• What impostor syndrome is
• Incompetent
• Self-doubt
• Not smart enough
• A fake
• A phony
• A fraud

26. Impostor Syndrome
• What impostor syndrome is
• Don’t belong with peers
• Need to be better to be accepted
• Not qualified

27. Impostor Syndrome
• What impostor syndrome is
• Smile and nod like you know what others are talking
about instead of asking
• Research afterwards
• Talk about it the next day like you knew about it all
along

28. Impostor Syndrome
• What impostor syndrome is
• Inability or unwillingness to internalize
accomplishments, recognition
• Not accepting that accomplishments are a reality

29. Impostor Syndrome
• What impostor syndrome is
• Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978
• Study of high achieving women
- Felt over-evaluated
- Believed they were not intelligent

30. Impostor Syndrome
• What impostor syndrome is
• Pauline Clance:
"If I could do it all over again, I would call it the
impostor experience, because it’s not a syndrome or
a complex or a mental illness, it’s something almost
everyone experiences."

31. Impostor Syndrome
• Who experiences it

32. Impostor Syndrome
• Who experiences it
• 70% of all people
• Most common in women and minority groups
• High achievers
• All industries

33. Impostor Syndrome
• Who experiences it
• Tom Hanks - Actor
• Look, the title is “Lucky Guy.”
It’s about somebody who is
almost good enough to
deserve what he achieves.
And I understand that. I still
feel sometimes that I’d like to
be as good as so-and-so
actor. I see some other
actors’ work, and I think I’ll
never get there. I wish I could.

34. Impostor Syndrome
• Who experiences it
• Sheryl Sandberg - Facebook
COO
• “There are still days when I wake
up feeling like a fraud, not sure I
should be where I am.”

35. Impostor Syndrome
• Who experiences it
• Denzel Washington - Actor
• That last five minutes before
you go on that first
[Broadway] preview, if you
don't have that 'what .. am I
doing here [feeling]' if you
don't have that then they say
it's time to quit.

36. Impostor Syndrome
• Who experiences it
• Sonia Sotomayor - Supreme
Court Justice
• “I’m not a classic impostor-
syndrome person because I
have that initial insecurity but I’m
capable of stepping outside of it
and proving to myself it’s
wrong.”

37. Impostor Syndrome
• Who experiences it
• Neil Armstrong - Astronaut
• Felt out of place at a gathering
for people who had
accomplished great things

38. Impostor Syndrome
• Who experiences it
• Twenty One Pilots - Stressed Out
- I wish I found some better sounds no one's ever heard
I wish I had a better voice that sang some better words
I wish I found some chords in an order that is new
I wish I didn't have to rhyme every time I sang
I was told when I get older all my fears would shrink
But now I'm insecure and I care what people think

39. Impostor Syndrome
• Who experiences it
• Rampant in the IT world, including software
engineers
- Bill Gates
- Mark Zuckerberg
- Many other greats

40. Impostor Syndrome
• Who experiences it
• Rampant in the IT world, including software
engineers
- Constantly changing technology
- New topics

41. Impostor Syndrome
• Who experiences it
• Conference Speakers
- Apologizing
- “Just”
- Lucky
- Feel insecure

42. Impostor Syndrome
• Who experiences it
• Blog Authors
- Joe Ferguson: “I’ve been really lucky to have
opportunities…
I’ve been lucky enough to have some really
awesome people mentor me…
I’m lucky enough that other conference organizers
value my input…”

43. Impostor Syndrome
• Who experiences it
• Twitter poll: 100% had experienced impostor
syndrome
- 9 out of 9

44. Impostor Syndrome
• Who experiences it
• Have you experienced impostor syndrome?
• Share your experiences

45. Impostor Syndrome

46. Impostor Syndrome
• How to handle the experiences

47. Impostor Syndrome
• How to handle the experiences
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZNNUs0v1cU

48. Impostor Syndrome
• How to handle the experiences
• Share feelings with others
- Many have experienced same feelings

49. Impostor Syndrome
• How to handle the experiences
• Ask questions
• Ask for help

50. Impostor Syndrome
• How to handle the experiences
• Write feelings
- Writing therapy
- List accomplishments
- Associate accomplishments with reality
- Reflection of experience
- Journal, blog, tweet

51. Impostor Syndrome
• How to handle the experiences
• Develop a support group
- Positive feedback
- Discuss experiences with
- Attend community events (user groups,
conferences)

52. Impostor Syndrome
• How to handle the experiences
• Be a mentor to others
- Be positive, not toxic
• Consider how others may be feeling
• Sincere acknowledgements

53. Impostor Syndrome

54. Impostor Syndrome
• Recognizing accomplishments

55. Impostor Syndrome
• Recognizing accomplishments
• Acknowledge your successes and accomplishments
• Pat on the back

56. Impostor Syndrome
• Recognizing accomplishments
• Accepting recognition and compliments

57. Impostor Syndrome
• Recognizing accomplishments
• No need to apologize
• Don’t diminish recognition

58. Impostor Syndrome
• Recognizing accomplishments
• Self-confidence

59. Impostor Syndrome
• Recognizing accomplishments
• You do belong
• You have accomplished something

60. Impostor Syndrome
• Recognizing accomplishments
• Community support

61. Impostor Syndrome
• Recognizing accomplishments
• Push your career ahead
- Consider 5 year plan
- Promotion, job title, roles

62. Impostor Syndrome
• Recognizing accomplishments
• Push your career ahead
- Salary surveys
- Software engineer national average $95k
- Salary.com: Entry $55k, Mid $70k, Senior $88k,
Staff $124k
- My observations: 0-3 Years $45-$70k, 4-6 Years
$70-$90k, 7-9 Years $90-$120k, 10+ $100k+

63. Impostor Syndrome
• Recognizing accomplishments
• Push your career ahead
- Salary surveys
- System Administrator national average $60k
- Salary.com: Entry $55k, Mid $68k, Senior $85k,
Staff $105k

64. Impostor Syndrome
• Recognizing accomplishments
• Push your career ahead
- Salary surveys
- QA Engineer national average $80k
- Salary.com: Entry $60k, Mid $70k, Senior $85k,
Manager $105k

65. Impostor Syndrome
• Recognizing accomplishments
• Push your career ahead
- Review current salary and salary history
- Research averages for your specialties and
experience
- Make a justified request for a raise if underpaid
- Make a job move if underemployed

66. Impostor Syndrome
• Recognizing accomplishments
• Push your career ahead
- Impostor syndrome can result in
- lower income
- missed opportunities

67. Impostor Syndrome
• Recognizing accomplishments
• Push your career ahead
- Expand experience
- Aquire certifications
- Network through conferences, user groups
- Feel confident in expertise

68. Impostor Syndrome

69. Impostor Syndrome
• My Experiences
• What impostor syndrome is
• Who experiences it
• How to handle the experiences
• Recognizing accomplishments

70. Impostor Syndrome
• Reflect on your past experiences
• Accept your accomplishments
• Keep pushing yourself towards goals

71. Questions?
• https://joind.in/talk/15d2c

72. Sources
• OSMI https://osmihelp.org/
• Quotes from https://www.thecut.com/2017/01/25-
famous-women-on-impostor-syndrome-and-self-
doubt.html
• Source of all knowledge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Impostor_syndrome
• Therapy http://impostertherapy.com/