Bascially what the title says. Ive been going to a 4 year university for game development and programming and at first had massive imposter syndrome which has died down a little since Ive been hitting good grades and getting solid responses from professors. Now that I'm on my third year and only have a year to go I again am getting imposter syndrome anxiety about actually entering the field. Ive been looking for an internship but there is very little and most everything wants experience past what I have. I'm just looking to hear from people what was their ‘I belong’ moment and what did you do that really made you feel prepared for the first job in the industry.
How did you shed your imposter syndrome when joining the industry?
Your job in the industry is to help move the ball. Remember that you are not playing every position on the field, you are a single player contributing to moving the ball. Sometimes you can even be highly effective and valuable merely as an open option, someone on the field as a safety has value even if they don't touch the ball; sometimes working on things that get discarded or cut is still quite valuable. Sometimes you will be celebrated for making the difficult play, but don't expect celebration for every play. Sometimes you will drop the ball or cost going the wrong way on the field, it happens, admit your errors, and learn what you can from it.
Also, the company knows your skill level. In school the upper classes are more skilled than the lower years, but when you enter the workforce you have zero years of industry experience. In industry you are a raw beginner, but they hired you anyway, knowing that in advance. You are not expected to work as though you have been doing it for twenty years. It can be unsettling the first time you work with someone and discover they helped create your favorite childhood games, or humbling to learn they were making amazing games before you were born. Leverage it for growth, rather than pushing yourself down.
Practice intellectual honesty and self assessments. Get feedback from your coworkers and thank them for it, no matter how painful it feels in the moment. Actively seek feedback on what you can improve. Everybody has room for improvement, and bosses know it and that's not an issue. What matters is what you do with it. As long as you are working towards being better than yesterday, and you are clearly involved in moving the ball, the bosses will generally be happy and supportive. Sometimes you will have setbacks, and you won't win every game, but as long as you genuinely reflect on what you can improve next time and keep trying, it will be enough.
So the “I belong here” feeling and affirmation only happens when you yourself believe you do belong.
For a while I felt like I constantly needed to prove myself in this industry, I felt like I should do more, be more. and that all my past successes, were looked down on, and that it was not good enough. This feeling lead me to apply for more and more jobs, which were mostly below my experience level.
I finally realized my niche, and dug in, and you know what?
once That happened, all the attempts to prove myself and hit that “perfect job title and position” fell away, and I realized what I had all along was indeed enough. That what I had built was worthy.
So, it all depends on how much you've seen, and done. One day you will see all you have created, and realize it was good.
Impostor syndrome fades in stages.
After the 3rd day in your new job you don't feel quite so lost.
After the 3rd week you start to feel comfortable.
After the 3rd month you start to feel like you belong.
After the 3rd year you feel like you own the place.
Don't worry about impostor syndrome. It comes back every time you start a new job, and it fades every time. If you worry about impostor syndrome, you're just causing yourself stress. Impostor syndrome comes by itself, without you needing to worry about it, and it'll go away by itself just the same.
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