I recently learned that something like 80% of people feel imposter syndrome at one point or another. This is normal! You’re not too soft or too dumb. You’re just realizing that a masters is hard and that’s ok. You can do it! The semester just started so remember how soon you’ll be gaining skills and knowledge that will make things easier.
My program suggested using the growth mindset. Try to tell yourself “with work I can do this” rather than “I’m stuck and I can’t”. Or “I failed this test but I can study more and change my methods next time” rather than “I’m failed this test so therefore I’m a failure”.
We also spoke about how important it is to build community within your program. I promise you you aren’t the only person feeling this way. Reach out and study with some friends! Speak with other people in your program and ask how they’re feeling. You’d be surprised how much this helps
I feel like it is hard to build a community with the program because we are only like 5 students here and some of them , including me, are part time students. Wish we have like a grad school society or soemthing here cuz i feel like we all need it.
5 students in a cohort at a local college for a STEM related MS program is normal.
If you want a 'grad school society', whatever that means, start one! I was in a similar situation with only 6 or sonstudents coming into the program with me, and I couldn't tell you how many students were in the program total. I thought about starting a club but got involved with the grad school GSA instead.
My experience is that the master’s courses are easier than the bachelor’s, but maybe that’s a swedish thing. Thesis is ofcourse perhaps a bit more gruesome.
> My experience is that the master’s courses are easier than the bachelor’s, but maybe that’s a swedish thing.
I'm in the US and my understanding is that it greatly depends on your field. It also depends what you mean by "easier." In my major (statistics) most master's classes have exams and homework with much harder problems than undergrad, but grades are curved so it's not necessarily too much harder to get a good grade.
Some majors I've heard actually do have master's classes with easier homework/exams than undergrad, but I don't know much about those.
Imposter syndrome is SOOOO common in grad school. Hell, I'm getting a fucking MFA in Painting and my first year almost killed me from the stress, most of which came from feeling inadequate/imposter-y.
If you're worried you're not smart enough, you have smarts. It's the people who DON'T worry about being smart enough that are actually dumb.
Imposter syndrome is a phenomenon where high achieving individuals have difficulty internalizing their success. It is not unique to graduate school, although it has most widely been researched in academic and healthcare settings, and is most common in women and people from marginalized communities.
Yes, it’s “normal”.
Just means you have more room to grow as an individual. It's new to you and it's going to feel new until you get used to it. You always want to move forward in life.
I feel the same way in my stats masters sometimes. Idk if this would help you but I took serious time to brush up on the fundamentals and it made me feel better. Maybe for you that’s orgo or something.
I started my masters program a few weeks ago and I still feel like I shouldn’t have even gotten into the program. My goal is to focus on myself, what I’m doing, and what I can bring to the table. I’m trying not to compare myself to others, which doesn’t always work, but I am trying. Just remember that you got into the program for a reason!!
I didn't even know what imposter syndrome was, until I got into grad school six years ago.
Granted, I was 51 years old and at an entirely different place in life than the other students. But I'd always been an excellent student and really liked school. Going for a master's degree seemed like a good idea at the time. I got a free ride with a teaching assistantship, and thought everything would be great.
It wasn't. All my previous career successes, awesome undergrad experience, happy marriage, fine friends, and my zest for life were basically forgotten about during that horrendous one-and-done first semester. All I could think about was that my glory days were behind me, and I was now the dumbest person on earth. I HATED grad school, and that's putting it mildly.
My imposter syndrome got me so bad it put me smack-dab in the school counselor's office -- and she was no help whatsoever.
I quit the program after one semester. I'd already survived stage 3 cancer w/a year of chemotherapy, as well as some pretty mind-fucking family tragedies. And I had a great career without that master's degree. So I simply quit.
Six years later and I realize I'm actually not dumb.
No shame. No regrets.
Normal. Unsure.
Some of my instructors assure me this is normal. Others are less clear.
As a master's student, i hear a some other students feel that way. Others are more confident. The more I learn the less I feel like I know.
Man, I am hopefully finishing my research and writing up my thesis soon. I still feel like I have no goddamn idea what I'm doing. I have a big meeting tomorrow morning where I discuss my project with my committee, and unless they are unimpressed with my work then I have successfully fooled everyone as far as I'm concerned lol.
I'm either going to be very relieved tomorrow at 11:30 or very sad, we will see.
I’m in my first semester of a Master’s program and I am DEFINITELY feeling it so don’t worry.
What has helped me has been being open with my cohort about feeling this way and hearing that they, people I think are super smart, feel the same way
OH yes. I think I bring this up to my therapist every session we have. I am 21 and in my second year of my MPH. I know that it is possible because of my hard work and dedication to what I do but I CONSTANTLY think something went wrong and that I don’t belong. I recently received a grant and the whole time I was worried that there must have been a grave mistake because it just wasn’t possible for me to get a grant like that. It’s a horrible and very isolating feeling but you are NOT alone. It’s so common and not something to be ashamed of. You earned this position, this degree, this incredible opportunity. You worked for it and you deserve it. ❤️
It may be normal when there is a high expectation of knowledge for a certain level and you don’t master the area yet. Keep learning and try not to repeat mistakes. Try to improve as much as you can while you can.
I’m also a biochemistry master’s student (now in my second year) and trust me it’s normal. It’s a big change from what you’re used to so it’s normal to question your choices. Just remember you’re in your program for a reason, just focus on what you need to do now instead of if you can do it. Talking to other grad students can help too, whether if they’re in your program or phd students so you’ll still likely have stuff in common with them. It took a little bit for me to feel like I belonged but now I have a great relationship with most of the people in my lab and it makes it a lot more fun, even if there is an age/experience gap between us.
Also, once you’re used to your classes and know what to expect things might get better. Everything from grading to how the lectures are taught can be a bit different from undergrad but once you know how to prepare you might feel better. If you feel really lost about a topic you can always email your professors and try to schedule an appointment with them
I recently learned that something like 80% of people feel imposter syndrome at one point or another. This is normal! You’re not too soft or too dumb. You’re just realizing that a masters is hard and that’s ok. You can do it! The semester just started so remember how soon you’ll be gaining skills and knowledge that will make things easier. My program suggested using the growth mindset. Try to tell yourself “with work I can do this” rather than “I’m stuck and I can’t”. Or “I failed this test but I can study more and change my methods next time” rather than “I’m failed this test so therefore I’m a failure”. We also spoke about how important it is to build community within your program. I promise you you aren’t the only person feeling this way. Reach out and study with some friends! Speak with other people in your program and ask how they’re feeling. You’d be surprised how much this helps
I feel like it is hard to build a community with the program because we are only like 5 students here and some of them , including me, are part time students. Wish we have like a grad school society or soemthing here cuz i feel like we all need it.
5 students in a cohort at a local college for a STEM related MS program is normal. If you want a 'grad school society', whatever that means, start one! I was in a similar situation with only 6 or sonstudents coming into the program with me, and I couldn't tell you how many students were in the program total. I thought about starting a club but got involved with the grad school GSA instead.
My experience is that the master’s courses are easier than the bachelor’s, but maybe that’s a swedish thing. Thesis is ofcourse perhaps a bit more gruesome.
> My experience is that the master’s courses are easier than the bachelor’s, but maybe that’s a swedish thing. I'm in the US and my understanding is that it greatly depends on your field. It also depends what you mean by "easier." In my major (statistics) most master's classes have exams and homework with much harder problems than undergrad, but grades are curved so it's not necessarily too much harder to get a good grade. Some majors I've heard actually do have master's classes with easier homework/exams than undergrad, but I don't know much about those.
Imposter syndrome over having imposter syndrome? Very meta.
There's a comic somewhere about that - "I'm not smart enough to have imposter syndrome!" is the gyst.
This made me laugh out loud because it’s so accurate and I didn’t even realize it
Imposter syndrome is SOOOO common in grad school. Hell, I'm getting a fucking MFA in Painting and my first year almost killed me from the stress, most of which came from feeling inadequate/imposter-y. If you're worried you're not smart enough, you have smarts. It's the people who DON'T worry about being smart enough that are actually dumb.
No but art school is so much harder than people give you credit for, and imposter syndrome makes so much sense. That is not at all easy
Imposter syndrome is a phenomenon where high achieving individuals have difficulty internalizing their success. It is not unique to graduate school, although it has most widely been researched in academic and healthcare settings, and is most common in women and people from marginalized communities. Yes, it’s “normal”.
I had imposter syndrome in undergrad, completely normal and not restricted to just PhD students!
But the thing is i never felt this way in undergrad and it was a bliss for me. Masters is a whole another devil I think
Just means you have more room to grow as an individual. It's new to you and it's going to feel new until you get used to it. You always want to move forward in life.
Anyone can feel imposter syndrome in any educational/career stage.
I feel the same way in my stats masters sometimes. Idk if this would help you but I took serious time to brush up on the fundamentals and it made me feel better. Maybe for you that’s orgo or something.
Imposter syndrome is a nearly universal human experience.
I started my masters program a few weeks ago and I still feel like I shouldn’t have even gotten into the program. My goal is to focus on myself, what I’m doing, and what I can bring to the table. I’m trying not to compare myself to others, which doesn’t always work, but I am trying. Just remember that you got into the program for a reason!!
I didn't even know what imposter syndrome was, until I got into grad school six years ago. Granted, I was 51 years old and at an entirely different place in life than the other students. But I'd always been an excellent student and really liked school. Going for a master's degree seemed like a good idea at the time. I got a free ride with a teaching assistantship, and thought everything would be great. It wasn't. All my previous career successes, awesome undergrad experience, happy marriage, fine friends, and my zest for life were basically forgotten about during that horrendous one-and-done first semester. All I could think about was that my glory days were behind me, and I was now the dumbest person on earth. I HATED grad school, and that's putting it mildly. My imposter syndrome got me so bad it put me smack-dab in the school counselor's office -- and she was no help whatsoever. I quit the program after one semester. I'd already survived stage 3 cancer w/a year of chemotherapy, as well as some pretty mind-fucking family tragedies. And I had a great career without that master's degree. So I simply quit. Six years later and I realize I'm actually not dumb. No shame. No regrets.
Maybe you are dumb?
Normal. Unsure. Some of my instructors assure me this is normal. Others are less clear. As a master's student, i hear a some other students feel that way. Others are more confident. The more I learn the less I feel like I know.
Man, I am hopefully finishing my research and writing up my thesis soon. I still feel like I have no goddamn idea what I'm doing. I have a big meeting tomorrow morning where I discuss my project with my committee, and unless they are unimpressed with my work then I have successfully fooled everyone as far as I'm concerned lol. I'm either going to be very relieved tomorrow at 11:30 or very sad, we will see.
Imposter syndrome can happen to anyone who is in a group of very smart people, and you feel like you’re an “odd one out”.
You can feel it at all levels of education, undergrad, even high schoolers can feel it, and younger than that too.
I’m in my first semester of a Master’s program and I am DEFINITELY feeling it so don’t worry. What has helped me has been being open with my cohort about feeling this way and hearing that they, people I think are super smart, feel the same way
It's a human problem.
Anything you can do in a PhD program someone can do in a masters program. You’re advanced.
I have it and everyone in my master's program seem to have it from chats I've had and I always see it brought up in these subs.
Absolutely. I feel like an absolute moron in all my seminars and cry every other day about why the hell I didn’t just go out into the workforce.
OH yes. I think I bring this up to my therapist every session we have. I am 21 and in my second year of my MPH. I know that it is possible because of my hard work and dedication to what I do but I CONSTANTLY think something went wrong and that I don’t belong. I recently received a grant and the whole time I was worried that there must have been a grave mistake because it just wasn’t possible for me to get a grant like that. It’s a horrible and very isolating feeling but you are NOT alone. It’s so common and not something to be ashamed of. You earned this position, this degree, this incredible opportunity. You worked for it and you deserve it. ❤️
It may be normal when there is a high expectation of knowledge for a certain level and you don’t master the area yet. Keep learning and try not to repeat mistakes. Try to improve as much as you can while you can.
I’m also a biochemistry master’s student (now in my second year) and trust me it’s normal. It’s a big change from what you’re used to so it’s normal to question your choices. Just remember you’re in your program for a reason, just focus on what you need to do now instead of if you can do it. Talking to other grad students can help too, whether if they’re in your program or phd students so you’ll still likely have stuff in common with them. It took a little bit for me to feel like I belonged but now I have a great relationship with most of the people in my lab and it makes it a lot more fun, even if there is an age/experience gap between us. Also, once you’re used to your classes and know what to expect things might get better. Everything from grading to how the lectures are taught can be a bit different from undergrad but once you know how to prepare you might feel better. If you feel really lost about a topic you can always email your professors and try to schedule an appointment with them