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I& #39;ve been writing code for the better part of 2 decades now, so I& #39;m immune to Imposter& #39;s Syndrome, right? 1/
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I thought I was. 5 years ago I started building @SpigotLabs with no prior business experience. It felt incredibly daunting. I literally had Imposter& #39;s Syndrome for EVERY SINGLE THING I tried because it was all brand new. 2/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
I learned to get used to it. I learned to wear it like a badge of honor. "Yeah, see that thing I did... yeah I had no idea what I was doing, but I got it done." It was empowering to admit that I was learning every day. 3/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
In the post-COVID world where live events were a distant memory, @SpigotLabs had no way to survive. I came to the conclusion that it was time to go back to doing what I do best - working on a team and building code. Back to my wheel house. Back to my old pair of shoes. 4/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
I got lucky enough to land an interview at a company I would be thrilled to work for. First round was a take-home coding test. Piece of cake, let& #39;s go. 5/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
Killed it! Felt awesome. I walked out of my office and cracked a beer to celebrate. Yup, here I am, a fish in water. Next up, video interviews. 6/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
My second video interview was a coding problem. Great, let& #39;s roll! Except.... I totally locked up. I& #39;m not sure if it was the pressure of the moment, or lack of coffee, or gamma rays from outer space. I could. not. think. 7/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
I want to dwell on this for just a minute because this was not some crazy theoretical programming problem that should have stumped me - this was a data structures question. It was not unlike some of the interview questions I& #39;ve asked from the other side of the table 8/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
In the moment, I was entirely heartbroken. I got off the phone and felt so defeated. This was my bread and butter. This is where I was meant to shine. And I watched it crumble in front of me. How could this happen? How could I fail so thoroughly? 9/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
I thought I had mastered my Imposter& #39;s Syndrome. I thought I would never feel it again, and NEVER as a developer. I was so incredibly wrong. 10/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
I had a little dinner, played with my kiddo, tried to think of other things. But I just couldn& #39;t shake it. I hate walking away from an unsolved problem. So after the munchkin was in bed, I sat down and coded up a solution. 11/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
I sent my code to the recruiter along with a short explanation, and closed with "I& #39;ll sleep better knowing that at least I built something that worked as desired." 12/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
And it& #39;s true. For me, knowing that I was able to grow from the experience and say, "I built that," was enough to put my Imposter& #39;s Syndrome at rest. 13/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
The moral of the story is that no matter where you are in your journey, you will encounter humbling moments. You will be faced with the mountain ahead and it will be easy to forget the miles behind. We all experience it, even after years of work and success. 14/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
But don& #39;t let it stop you in your tracks. You can do it, you can get there, you can build it. Those of us who have been there before are here to help. We all need a hand from time to time. 15/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
I& #39;ve been thinking about writing this thread since that day. It felt important to me to share the humbling of a senior developer with the wider world. But I waited long enough that now I can add a happy ending. 16/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
I& #39;m thrilled to announce that I& #39;ll be starting at @twilio as a Staff Software Engineer working with the inimitable @lindybrandon early next month https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🎉" title="Partyknaller" aria-label="Emoji: Partyknaller">. I am so incredibly excited to continue my journey alongside my fellow Twilions! /end
