[polishdude20]

I get an imposter feeling not because I feel I know nothing but because I feel like the tech world is closing its gates to me in particular.

When I am told by my software developer friends how quickly I've learned in the last year and when I get lots of users using my projects that reinforces the idea that I would be a great developer. But then when I apply for jobs and just keep getting rejection after rejection, it wears me down and makes me feel like an imposter who isn't cool enough to join the club you know?

[eropple]

Lots of users using your projects, and this is a little perplexing but true, is not the most indicative thing with regards to being a good or great software developer in industry. One of the unfortunate realities of our industry is that we have allowed "developers" to, not always but quite often, be reduced to checkbox-checking, acceptance-criteria-filling bolt turners. It is Taylorism[0] writ large, and while scientific management has some undeniable benefits it is all too easy to turn craftspeople into...well, like I said, bolt turners.

Being good at shipping products doesn't make you a good bolt turner. It's something to be proud of, to be sure. But it's not something that translates into interview success at most places.

I would advise some mock interviews, etc. with those friends (assuming you have friends who have the insight of a hiring manager in whatever you're looking at) and see where you fall.

[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management

[kfarr]

I agree and disagree with this. I agree that in many environments their definition of a "great software developer" is a bolt turner.

However I think that in many other environments, especially early stage, a "great software developer" is someone that makes sure the user's problems are met and that is definitely measured by usage.

[eropple]

These places certainly still exist! I'm fortunate to work in one. But they're also more rare and the requirements to land those jobs tend to be more stringent. The OP sounds like a relatively junior developer, albeit a highly motivated one; that's often a tough fit for such roles.

[klibertp]

Just keep at it. If you really learn quickly, then in a year or two you'll know enough for that to make any difference to a potential employer. Just continue what you're doing, write code, build projects, look out for opportunities to build your personal brand, but above all else, continue to learn. You'll see that, as the saying (Japanese, I think) goes, "even the top has a top" - what you consider a large amount of knowledge today will seem like a drop in a bucket in a year, not to mention in two. By 2025 you'll be, for better or worse, spammed by recruiters on Linkedin just like the rest of us.

You can expand your knowledge and hone your skills practically without limits, and there's no reason to stop just because you're out of school/landed a job. Most good developers never stop, and have been doing this for their whole careers, some for decades - while you've been at it for a year. I don't want to discourage you - it's a good start, but it's just a start.

[polishdude20]

My problem is that I feel what I need the most now is real world real job experience working with a team of developers. One year of actual software developer experience working in a team will do me more good in improving my skills than 3 years working on side projects.

I feel like I've done enough side projects to prove I'm at least not a complete hopeless case.

[poulsbohemian]

>But then when I apply for jobs and just keep getting rejection after rejection, it wears me down and makes me feel like an imposter who isn't cool enough to join the club you know?

I've concluded that we aren't going to fix this. When even PhD's appear to have this same experience, you know it isn't a matter of education. For a long time I thought perhaps licensing / certification like other professions including engineering, but there are too many economic forces against that happening.

So, we're going to continue to bifurcate into companies that have the means to interview, hire, and manage software development and those that are essentially a cargo cult version of those activities. You have to basically accept that a large segment of the market for tech workers is going to belittle you, mistreat you, and it's up to you to either jump through their hoops or work really hard to find places that aren't like that.

[karatestomp]

Understanding tech but also how to build things people want, and get them to use them, is more valuable (higher status, better pay, and especially a better pay ceiling) than knowing how to write code at most companies that aren't FAANG and such, or finance. So, most of the software world. Maybe look at product management?

[mesaframe]

That's not Imposter Syndrome that's lack of confidence.