Dan Schnau

10 Years as an Impostor

For me, this February will mark 10 years of collecting a steady paycheck in software engineering working on “boring business software”.

I’m in my 30s. I have a four-year degree in Software Engineering from a university that shows up on this list.

Ten years ago, my salary was $42,000. I’ve tripled that salary and then some.

Several times I’ve quit one job for a better one. I’ve never been fired from a job.

I’m a cis white male. I live in the Midwest USA.

If anyone working in our industry might not feel like an impostor I imagine they might look a lot like me.

But I feel like a fake, a fraud, just waiting to be found out I don’t hold all the cards, frequently.

I don’t have anything new to say about impostor syndrome. I just won’t spend another decade being ashamed of it.