My sophomore year of college I felt so inadequate that I was going to drop out of computer science and completely alter my after college plans. What exacerbated these feelings was the belief that I was the only one who felt this way and because I was the only one who felt this way it reiterated the idea that computer science was not the major for me. There was one thing that I can remember that made me feel better; I confided in my peers. Specifically, a female student who was incredibly intelligent, who worked really hard and whose hard work paid off, to my surprise she felt the same way I did and had also almost dropped the major. This experience has driven me to work on educating others about the imposter syndrome so they do not need to feel as if they are the only ones experiencing these feelings.

As a female undergraduate student in a male dominated field it is easy to think that just about everybody knows about the imposter syndrome. But, what always surprises me is how many people feel this way and think they are the only one; myself included. The imposter syndrome is the feeling or idea that your success is due to external factors such as luck. People who experiences this also worry that people are going to find out that they are an “imposter” that they do not have the knowledge or skills for their current position and are somehow passing by. Many people who experience the imposter syndrome often believe that they are not as skilled as their peers, they are the only one struggling, they often wonder how they got in their position.

It is believed that people who are within a field that is a dominated by the opposite sex are affected more by the opposite sex, probably due to feelings of unbelonging, e.g. women in computer science. People who exhibit imposter syndrome are aware of how their peers view them but are unable to attribute their success to things such as skills and intelligence. These feelings result in heightened levels of anxiety and stress. As a result, people will put in more work hours which can lead to burn out. The combination of anxiety, stress, and burn out causes a stronger case of imposter syndrome creating a cycle. The cycle caused by feelings of the imposter syndrome results in an attempt to lower people’s expectations; this can get so intense that people will turn down opportunities for growth.

The imposter syndrome can be detrimental to success, so what do we do? There have been a couple of things shown to help and a few that I can personally speak to are: a feeling of belonging, increased mentorship, and awareness. Sometimes my feelings of being an imposter are so severe that I am paralyzed. A constant anxiety that I will never be as smart or as skilled as my peers makes me want to shut down, I question why I should continue to work hard. Learning I was not the only one who experiences these feelings helped enormously because I was not alone. If I am not the only one experiencing this than it speaks less about me as an individual. On top of that I confide in my professors. They are able to help me internalize my success; they are able to help become more aware of my success. I still struggle with the imposter syndrome consistently but the awareness I have gained from educating myself and opening myself up to others has allowed me to continue to work through it and continue to do my best to be as successful as I can.