DNA is a nucleic acid.... Right? Kidding! That's a basic concept that I think even a middle school-er knows the answer to. If you've been pursuing a terminal degree of any kind it is quite common to feel like you don't know enough, or you second guess the things you do know.
One thing I think any person in STEM can agree with is having experienced the overwhelming feeling of inadequacy when in a room full of post-docs,graduate students and ultimately your committee members. It always seems that everyone knows more than you about everything! You start second guessing yourself even though you've spent the last however many years learning about the topic.One thing that gets me through my day is knowing that nobody knows everything about anything and nobody knows more about MY specific research project than I do!
....nobody knows everything about anything!
Why do you think several television shows end at the arc of the episode? Why does it always seem like Olivia Pope is about to do something ridiculously AMAZEballs (I made that word up) just before you hear the cameras snapping? That's right! You guessed it! It pulls you in, makes you curious as to what's going to happen next so you can keep watching and tune in the following week only to be bombarded with more subliminal messages in commercials that force you to go to the car lot to buy that new Kia Soul. Of course I'm exaggerating and veering off topic, but I'm sure you get the point. If you're in the sciences, the more exposed to information you are, the more curious you become. That curiosity leads to the desire to know more, or in the case of Scandal, watch the next episode. The unfortunate thing about uncovering more is realizing that you don't really know much about anything. You've made this grand hypothesis only to test it and discover a little snap shot information. This snap shot in no way shape or form reveals much information; instead, it only serves to fancify (I made that word up too) the fact that you still don't know what's occurring in whatever process you're elucidating.
I don't think I'm an exception when I say this, but coming out of high school, I just knew I was the bomb. I graduated salutatorian in my class, I got to give a nice, "mama we made it and beat the odds" speech and I had more than $200,000 in scholarship offers. You can ask Ms. Wood-Royston about the hell I put her through thinking I had it all figured out. I went to a small HBCU in Tuscaloosa AL (Stillman College) which did wonders for my confidence, but did very little for my humility. The small class rooms were a bonus, my professors were able to cater to me so I never felt stupid because there are no dumb questions... or so I thought.While I did become more humble than I was in high school, I still thought my stuff didn't stink.
I graduated from college realizing that I didn't actually know everything like I thought I did in high school and in spite of people calling me smart I realized that there was much more I could learn and discover. So I decided to pursue my PhD at one of the top universities in the the United States for research. Though I spent my summers at UAB, I don't think any amount of preparation could have prepared me for the competitive atmosphere. I was surrounded by geniuses... which did wonders for my ego (sarcasm). I felt like I was constantly standing around looking like a deer in head lights. "Say whaaa?" and "Ummm... I've never even heard of that gene." Became regular parts of my vocabulary. Navigating the scientific literature was extremely difficult... and it still is. I felt like I didn't belong and I considered quitting on multiple occasions (I even cried sometimes). Prior to and during my first committee meeting where I defended my project proposal I almost pooped my pants, but I passed. Then I took my qualifying exams... talk about feelings of insecurity man.... but I passed and gained candidacy. How did I conquer my fear? To put it frankly... I didn't.
How did I conquer my fear? To put it frankly... I didn't.
Imposter syndrome isn't anything that just goes away. In my opinion it will forever be there. The one thing I think can help you deal with it is to continue learning and growing. Exposing your weaknesses is extremely uncomfortable, but it is necessary for growth. You will never know what you don't know if you don't know. I think the best way to overcome imposter syndrome is to acknowledge it. Once you acknowledge it, it is no longer foreign. Another thing to realize is that no one expects you to know everything about everything. If you know you've been reading and studying, the only thing you can do is be confident about what you know and be HONEST about what you don't know!
You will never know what you don't know... if you don't know.
...NO ONE expects you to know everything about EVERYTHING. So it's okay to be stupid... (sometimes).