Imposter Syndrome In Engineering

Are you a successful or high-achieving person but often find yourself doubting your abilities? Are you always striving for the best but don’t think your work or worth is enough and you haven’t earned your place? If you said yes to either questions, you most likely have imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome is defined as an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. It also can be recognized as feeling like a fraud or not being good in terms of performance whether work or academia related when typically it’s the opposite.

Commonly found with engineering and STEM students, imposter syndrome is something that the majority of us are unlucky enough to experience through our careers at some point. Having STEM fields be so competitive, it’s very easy to catch yourself feeling inferior to colleagues.

Common Causes

Imposter syndrome is typically the result of multiple factors, such as perfectionism, relationships, and family background. Perfectionism can stem from a fear of judgment or disapproval. When perfectionists don’t meet a set goal, they feel somewhat like a failure. When it comes to family, significant others and parents can play a major role by comparing you to another person, whether it be an ex or sibling.

Engineers require quite a ton of knowledge to receive the degree (as do other majors), but come with the stigma that “Oh wow, you’re an engineer so that must mean you’re smart!”. Although it’s nice to hear at times, it often can result in an internal comparison to peers or other engineers that you know which can knock down your confidence if you are already having doubts.

The people most likely to get imposter syndrome are women, specifically women of color in male-dominated fields. Constant bullying, mansplaining, and exclusion from conversations (no matter how severe) are all common things women in engineering have to endure that eventually lead to developing imposter syndrome. This forces them to question every little, small decision they make because they now truly believe they’re unqualified- which isn’t the case. To add on, being that they are in a male-dominant field, they are never the first person to be thought of to be the engineer in the room, and are often forced to prove themselves before being respected.

Ways to Cope/Overcome

From my research, the steps to overcoming imposter syndrome vary depending on the person and how they deal with certain situations. I listed a few different methods below from different sources.

Source 1

Understand and acknowledge the negative emotions you get when you feel lesser than the people around you
Talk about your feelings with another person
Celebrate your successes
Be less of a perfectionist
Aquire self-compassion
Tell others about your failures
Accept it’s a process

Source 2

Just decide to be more confident!

*Not necessarily “fake it till you make it”, just remember the reason you’ve made it to that point.

I feel like I resonated most with this one because I like when people call me out haha not for everyone though.

Source 3

Similar to Source 1, but more in depth.

Recognize the signs
Understand you’re not alone
Distinguish humility and fear
Let go of being a perfectionist
Be nicer to yourself
Track your progress and successes
Talk through it with a mentor
Say “yes” more to opportunities
Embrace your feelings and understand why you feel that way

To conclude, imposter syndrome is not unusual to engineering students, who most will likely experience this at some point during their career. Although it affects everyone differently, there are ways to manage and even separate entirely from the negative thoughts that come with it.

My Personal Experience

I first had imposter syndrome (without realizing it) in middle school. I was in a woodshop class that only had two other girls in a class of about 30 students. I was pretty shy to begin with considering it was my first male-dominated class, and them all being friends prior didn’t help. I remember when it came to using the machines, I was super intimidated because all the guys seemed so confident and eager towards them. I got through the class eventually, but honestly hated going because I felt like I was so out of place. I made a little bat out of wood as well as one of those 15 peg triangle games, which actually turned out better than most of the guys’ pieces. I honestly think it was the lack of women representation and anxiety that took over and caused me to feel as though I didn’t belong.

The 15 peg game in question that I was trying to describe

I learned about imposter syndrome during my transfer semester to UTSA (Fall 2019) because I often heard people talking about it. Being surrounded by strictly engineering students made me realize how competitive they were. The way they (guy and girl engineering students) talk tells a lot about how they stand amongst their peers. I noticed that when I was in a group (still happens), the students who try to correct you in a negative, slightly demeaning and rude, tone typically know a lot less than you and putting you down is their way of trying to compensate. Guys hate being corrected by a girl they don’t know and will try to make you inferior so that you admit they’re right even if they’re not. This is only a handful of guys, many won’t do this but it just shows you their insecurities. I can admit I had imposter syndrome probably up until early last year (2021), because I really didn’t have much self-confidence. That had to do with previous anxieties and experiences, but I’m happy to say I no longer get negatively affected by others’ words or accomplishments.