The Imposter’s Handbook – Second Edition

Take a look around your office, online, or wherever you work with other programmers. Did you know that 20% of these people are planning to leave their job this year and get a higher paying one because they have skills that are ridiculously in demand? The other 80% get to stay behind in a crappy job earning far less than they should be.
What’s the difference between the 20% and the 80%? The 20% speak up and demand to be paid what they think they’re worth. What do you think you’re worth? It’s probably a lot more than you think.
Here’s the thing: great programmers are a rare find – mostly because they stay hidden in crappy jobs, burying their talent under a belief that everyone is better than them, not recognizing just how valuable they are. Burnout sets in, self-esteem drops and they give up entirely.
The demand for talent in our industry is off the charts! Filling that demand is the problem. There’s simply too much mediocrity.

You’ve probably heard of this phenomenon: people with low ability at a task or a job overestimate their skills at said task or job. Put another way: the worst programmers are the most confident and believe they’re amazing.

The opposite is also true: the best performers underestimate their skill because they’re good people and don’t like to shine the light on themselves. That means they don’t speak up for themselves, lose their voice, and don’t get the recognition they deserve.

This is the problem: you stay silent while your loud, toxic coworker gets the promotion and you end up working for them.