When I did a coding bootcamp long ago in a career switch I couldn't help but look around the room and think "Hey ... some of these people really shouldn't be arbitrarily encouraged anymore."

It's a rough thing to think / do, but also maybe would have been for the best for many of them.

To their credit I talked to some folks who were in the camp a few years after me and they reported that the class sizes naturally shrank as the classes went on. Apparently students were being better evaluated and had ways "out" that encouraged a little more "yeah maybe this isn't for you" type of evaluation.

I have been told I have imposter syndrome by many people. I get all the "You are better than you think you are" and "Trust me, I've seen worse than you."

Regardless, I think I have a pretty accurate assessment of my abilities. I have been professionally programming for 7 years (10 years total) and have a degree in CS.

That being said, I have no fucking idea what I am doing 99% of the time. I just follow guides and documents, and just glue libraries together like a cyber plumber. I probably couldn't even reverse a string by hand if my life depended on it. My job has a pretty low bar for what is considered acceptable, so I have been able to fly under the radar with ease all these years. I'm not being modest, I am being serious. The jaws of many users here would hit the floor if they saw some of our practices.

However, the good news for me is that I do not have to remain like this. Over the past few months or so, I have really tried to increase my knowledge by diving face first in books, lectures, and other resources. I feel like I have improved significantly in this short amount of time. I mean, I am basically starting all over again, but hey, I can maintain the status quo or I can do something about it.

I guess my whole point is that, one may be an "imposter" and/or incompetent, but it's also one's choice to remain as one.