We’re All Suspect—Luckily the Imposter Hasn’t Been Found

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by Benjamin McRill

When you’re with your team or colleagues—you’re the best, you’re an expert, you somehow know so much and they can’t believe how you figured that out!

However, when you’re alone in your own thoughts—you’re a fraud, lucky, not as educated as you should be, an IMPOSTER!

This is likely due to a phenomenon called “imposter syndrome.” Although this is not considered a mental disorder, it is well documented in history, literature, and studies. Don’t believe me? Maybe Socrates can start this conversation. When told by the Oracle of Delphi that he was the smartest man on earth, Socrates replied, “I know that I know nothing.” If a man like Socrates thinks he knows nothing, what chance do the rest of us have?

The roots of imposter syndrome lie in what is called the Dunning-Kruger effect, yet the two concepts are at odds with each other. Dunning-Kruger is the belief that you know it all and are so confident, nothing can stop you. Imposter syndrome is the opposite—where people get stuck thinking that they aren’t good enough and will never make it (the bottom of the graph).

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The graph is pretty self-explanatory, but let’s break it down a bit. When you first earned your ASNT Level II or Level III you may have been a little nervous, but a week into the job, all the schooling and training came flooding back and you were crazy confident. “This is easy,” you thought while slinging powder or setting up an X-ray every day. Then nine months in your confidence got you a tough project—something at a higher level you have little experience in. This will be nothing. You are the cock of the walk. Nothing is too complicated to just figure out. They picked you because clearly, you’re the best. You’re going to show those old timers how we do it! Hello Mr. Dunning and Mr. Kruger.

Give it a couple months and it’s complicated, but you can’t let them know that—they picked you! You grind through this new challenge, and at every corner you are asked high level questions and introduced to concepts you’ve never heard of before. (What the HECK is a fish bone diagram?) You’re in over your head and you’ll never understand all of this. You just wanted to inspect cool stuff. Google will have the answers, right? Maybe you were overconfident for far too long.

Now, let’s jump ahead three years. You made it through those projects by the skin of your teeth. You relied on dozens of people much better equipped than you to handle issues, but you survived. All those terms you were scared of you now use daily.

There’s just one problem. You’re no longer confident. You were put through the mental and physical ringer for three years. Yeah, you learned some fancy new terms and now know what AQL is, but there’s so much more to learn, so many things you still don’t know. What if the next project is even harder? You just sense that everyone you work with knows you’re a fraud and they are looking for your replacement. This is imposter syndrome.

The above paragraph is the stage some people have a difficult time coming to terms with and using self-evaluation to understand their limits and knowledge. This is where imposter syndrome lies. Many people live there for years and years. It can hinder growth, promotions, and your mental well-being. It doesn’t matter how much you know, you understand that you know NOTHING. Socrates was right, wasn’t he?

Socrates was not right. You know a lot. You actually know more than many people in many positions. And there are many people who know much more than you. Knowledge is never ending. Gravity isn’t real, the earth is flat (still debated on YouTube to this day), the Earth is the center of the universe, babies are created by homunculus! We are ever learning and ever evolving. And that’s okay.

To help get over your imposter syndrome, the first thing you must accept is that you do not know it all. You will ask for help. You will contribute to the best of your ability. You will make mistakes or less than optimal decisions. And it’s okay. That’s it. That’s the secret. Easier said than done, I know.

Here’s a short story: I have taken dozens of Level II and III tests in my career—in-house, practice, and ASNT. I took one for my new employer a couple of days before writing this article. I always get nervous. I always think I am going to fail. I am going to get laughed off the property. I’m a fraud.

I scored an 88 on the in-house Level III test and this annoyed me. Why couldn’t I get a 100? How could I miss a question when I had the procedures right in front of me? Is the 88 embarrassing and going to make my boss think I’m a fraud now?

These are all very true thoughts I had over the course of taking the test and getting the results. You see how fast the emotions can change—how quickly imposter syndrome can set in? Why do I tell you this? To highlight that we all go through it.

The good thing for me is that I have learned to quickly let these things go. I do my job well. I ask for help when it’s out of my knowledge base. I lean on coworkers and past contacts. I am always learning, always making mistakes, and always bettering myself. You can do it, too. Instead of running around the ship trying not to look like the imposter, maybe it’s time to focus on the tasks at hand.

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Author

Benjamin McRill, ASNT NDT Level III (MT, PT, VT), NDT Level II (UT), Responsible Level III, Texas, benmcrill@gmail.com

References

• Duignan, B., 2022. “Dunning-Kruger effect,” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/science/Dunning-Kruger-effect. Accessed 14 February 2023
• “Imposter Syndrome,” Psychology Today, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/imposter-syndrome. Accessed 14 February 2023
• Palmer, C., 2021, “How to overcome impostor phenomenon,”Monitor on Psychology, 52(4). https://www.apa.org/monitor/2021/06/cover-impostor-phenomenon. Accessed 14 February 2023
• Homunculus: De homunculus (c. 1529–1532), and De natura rerum (1537)

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