It doesn't really, but what does matter is whether you FEEL like you are. The software industry (and broader, the whole STEM industry) is full of people who are kinda full of themselves, and people are being TOLD that they are above average, that they SHOULD be above average, that they should be or strive to be a mythical 10x developer, a thoughtleader, that they should be writing blogposts and appear on stage, organize and attend meetups, create and maintain open source software, read books and papers, etc etc etc.
And those that don't are silently shamed or shunned, looked down on by those who do (or say that they do; in practice / what I've seen is that that energy they have lasts for only a few years, after which they either settle down in family life, end up in burnout, or both).
It's a toxic culture, one that isn't actively pushed by any one individual or organization, but one that is prevalent and normalized throughout the industry.
The SF bubble is even worse, where you're considered cool if you do 24 hour hackathons, work nights, sleep in overpriced bunk beds in hacker homes so you can hop back on your tech five seconds after waking up.
Anyway sorry, I had a rant brewing, it's not specific to your comment. Speaking for yourself, while I will acknowledge I'm probably better at my job than a lot of people, I also suffer from impostor syndrome, from not being good, fast, ambitious, productive or smart enough. I've thankfully gotten out of a "rat race" organization (consultancy, yay) and I've settled down in a job where I have both responsibility, time and space to do my own thing, pick my own tools and tech.
In that job, I can decide on my own technology choices without having to compete with egos and trends. I can sit down and think about, write down the tech choices, instead of landing in an assignment where the decisions have already been made, or where they're made in a 15 minute meeting where the loudest or most impatient guy decides without any deliberation or paperwork.
I am a lot more confident that the software I write now will last for longer, whereas other jobs I've had, code I've written would likely go quickly to subsistence / maintenance mode, then a full rewrite by the next generation of energetic hipsters because the existing stuff is unsalvageable, because the previous generation of energetic hipsters got bored and the opportunity to start something new (which they prefer to do every 6-12 months).
I should probably write an angry rant blogpost about this, ironically.
Just wanted to say thank you for your (informative) rant.
> In that job, I can decide on my own technology choices without having to compete with egos and trends. I can sit down and think about, write down the tech choices, instead of landing in an assignment where the decisions have already been made, or where they're made in a 15 minute meeting where the loudest or most impatient guy decides without any deliberation or paperwork.
And those that don't are silently shamed or shunned, looked down on by those who do (or say that they do; in practice / what I've seen is that that energy they have lasts for only a few years, after which they either settle down in family life, end up in burnout, or both).
It's a toxic culture, one that isn't actively pushed by any one individual or organization, but one that is prevalent and normalized throughout the industry.
The SF bubble is even worse, where you're considered cool if you do 24 hour hackathons, work nights, sleep in overpriced bunk beds in hacker homes so you can hop back on your tech five seconds after waking up.
Anyway sorry, I had a rant brewing, it's not specific to your comment. Speaking for yourself, while I will acknowledge I'm probably better at my job than a lot of people, I also suffer from impostor syndrome, from not being good, fast, ambitious, productive or smart enough. I've thankfully gotten out of a "rat race" organization (consultancy, yay) and I've settled down in a job where I have both responsibility, time and space to do my own thing, pick my own tools and tech.
In that job, I can decide on my own technology choices without having to compete with egos and trends. I can sit down and think about, write down the tech choices, instead of landing in an assignment where the decisions have already been made, or where they're made in a 15 minute meeting where the loudest or most impatient guy decides without any deliberation or paperwork.
I am a lot more confident that the software I write now will last for longer, whereas other jobs I've had, code I've written would likely go quickly to subsistence / maintenance mode, then a full rewrite by the next generation of energetic hipsters because the existing stuff is unsalvageable, because the previous generation of energetic hipsters got bored and the opportunity to start something new (which they prefer to do every 6-12 months).
I should probably write an angry rant blogpost about this, ironically.