Do you ever get that awful feeling that you’re not good enough to do your job? That you lack skills, intelligence and talent? That everyone around you knows what they’re doing, and you just slip through by luck, chance, and appearing to be better than you really are? Do you live in fear that it’s only a matter of time before someone discovers you’re just a fraud? You are not alone.

According to research, Impostor Syndrome affects almost 90% of people working in IT. In this presentation, I will unravel this phenomenon, explore why it is so dominant in our industry, how one gets into a vicious circle and where it can lead to. I will discuss how the awareness of simple mechanisms will help you see your competencies and what tricks to use to defy the demons of insecurity.

*May contain traces of rubber ducks"

Pawel has been working in Wrocław IT since 2009. He was digging through the code in a Finnish telecom, German logistics, a Swiss bank, a car factory, a travel startup, British compliance, and villa rental. Currently, he has gone to the dark side and takes care of a flock of programmers and team leaders, a mentoring program, a guild and is sticking his nose wherever else he can. Personally, he likes to read, play board games, analog and computer RPGs. He practices powerlifting and collects vintage Lego Technic. Writes about software, peopleware and dragons on HowToTrainYourJava.com.