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CareerImposter Syndrome! First time, I guess.
Hi ladies,
I'm 41 years old and decided to go back to school and get a degree and make a career change.
After a couple of semesters I discovered I love math and want to pursue it.I'm a bit behind schedule because I just came at it late, started my college math career placing into Intermediate Algebra.
Anyways, I'm not daunted! I love it so much! My wife is a STEM phd in Biology (and a radfem, lucky me) and she understands my feelings.
How do you deal with imposter syndrome?
Mine is really heavy right now because I decided to major in math while still being so early in my math studies.
you've got this! Though I only took gap year, I too had to start in algebra, but went on to get a BS in theoretical maths. It doesn't matter where you start, cuz if you love it, you'll work at it. I had been thinking I would go into physics, but after my first class in calculus, I was hooked. I went on to program algorithms, so even if you don't plan to teach, it's a great foundation.
oops, sorry I didn't answer. I think it took over a decade actually working before I started to let go of the imposter syndrome. The more I inhabited that world, the more I did well, the feelings would improve. I wish I knew. It may come down to taking things one day at a time. To this day, I still have nightmares where I failed to graduate. Working in STEM tends to teach us that failure is normal and required to learn enough to find a working solution. Once I got used to that, and stopped beating myself up for not being perfect, I remembered the success at the end more than the mis-steps along the way.
Maybe this will help you IDK, but something that helps me is by telling myself there's no prize for being the first one done in life, and there's no prize for being the fastest along in something (except for actual races), but pedantics aside....
It's okay to start things when you're farther behind than others. If anything, you should know that by wanting to continue on int the field, it shows you're dedicated to this. You're not just doing this because it's easy and it will be over soon. You're doing this because you're passionate about it.
Even for students fresh out of highschool, many of them start out behind on math because they may come from an unprivelged school that didn't offer adequate math to prepare them for the college level. You won't be alone, so don't feel discouraged. Don't be afraid to take any tutoring or go to office hours if it is offered to you; it doesn't mean you are failing, it means you care enough to work towards a better understanding in the subject. The more you practice, you'll become more confident. Good luck!!
Thank you so much! This is great perspective.
One of the reasons I knew I was in love with math was going to office hour (via zoom) and spending literally hours chatting with a math prof (who became my mentor)
I am 1000% comfortable admitting what I don’t know and seeking help, I don’t think I would be a math major and budding mathematician otherwise. Being wrong and learning something new is just awesome.
That is brilliant. As a former prof I wanted to mention that we have so much respect for 'mature' students--as puffyfluffyleaves wrote, we know you're there because you WANT to be, and you care about the subject, not because you're supposed to, your parents expect you to, or you need the degree. And we also know that older people are giving up a lot more to be in our classes--they're dedicating their valuable free time left over from work and caring for their families to spend it with us. So we are happy to support as much as we can; please do continue to take full advantage of what we can offer.
Can’t speak to impostor syndrome, but I just wanted to say that I really respect women in math, and you got this!
How do you deal with imposter syndrome?
I don't really focus on what I don't have or what I know less that others, I just focus on the stages I've been and the progress I've made in my own studies.
First of all, congrats on making a change. Not enough people do it and just stay unhappy in jobs or careers they hate.
Imposter syndrome is pretty real when you feel like you're 'behind' in some way. I shouldn't necessarily be giving advice because I've recently felt this way as well. I'm also in the midst of a career change, going into science for the first time. I personally need to keep reminding myself to ask for help when I need it. It's really easy to fall into a trap of---oh I'm older so I should know how to do this already. I think it also just helps to try not comparing yourself with other people. For me it's really easy to feel down on myself after reading the CV's of others my age who went straight to college then grad school with no breaks and who are now doing well. I have to keep reminding myself that my path is just different and not inferior in any way. Don' t compare!
Also the sciences are full of sort of egotistical people here and there. Best to ignore them.
Awesome! Wishing you all the best with your new career path. Fellow math lover here :)
When I went to college (for computer science), I knew coming in I was going to have to work extra hard to catch up with the other students (most at my university came from fancy private schools while I went to a pretty mediocre public high school). I made myself a promise to not ever compare myself with anyone else and instead just set achievable standards and goals for myself. I never ever asked other people what grades they got, and declined to answer when people asked me.
I tried to embody the quote from the dancer baryshnikov: “I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself.” I felt it did wonders for me because I was very focused on what I can do to achieve my goals instead of worrying about competing with classmates or feeling like I didn’t measure up. This helped me to hone my studying techniques and feel proud when I met my goals.
I am not sure if this is related or not, but I very rarely felt imposter syndrome, and when I did it was just fleeting and I quickly shut it down. I try to remember that errant self-deprecating thoughts are just thoughts and my own perceptions, which are not necessarily a reflection of reality. It’s good to remind yourself of that when you’re experiencing some negative thoughts, it helps put the trustworthiness of the thought into question.
Anyways, I hope that helped a little and I am sure you will do great! The fact that you had the courage to change your path is already a great start. Rooting for you!
I LOVE this response, thank you so much for sharing your perspective and experience. ❤️