As a teacher who is transitioning careers, it's completely normal to experience feelings of doubt and uncertainty. One of the most common feelings that many people experience is imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is the feeling that you are a fraud; doubting your abilities and attributing your success to something external.
For example, if someone compliments you on your work, you might say something like, "Oh, it was nothing. It was just a lucky break," or "It was just a good audience." You might give the credit for your success to anything else but yourself.
It's important to note that imposter syndrome is not based on facts, which means that it's not something that can be easily overcome with logic or reasoning. It's a feeling that can hold you back from pursuing your career goals, even when you are more than capable of achieving them.
As a transitioning teacher, you might be experiencing imposter syndrome as you apply for new roles and try to break into a new field. For example, let's say you have trained your colleagues on something, and everyone loves your training sessions. But now that you're applying for a corporate training role, you feel like you're not qualified for it. Even though you have done it before, imposter syndrome is holding you back.
However, it's important to note that imposter syndrome is not always the problem. Sometimes, you might feel like you're not qualified for a role because you haven't yet acquired the necessary skills and knowledge. For example, if you want to become a project manager, but you haven't yet studied different project management frameworks, become familiar with the technology, or learned about the different processes, then you're not qualified for the role yet.
If you mislabel this feeling of not being qualified as imposter syndrome, you might not take the necessary steps to upskill and get the qualifications you need for the role. Don't let this discourage you, though. As a teacher, you have already learned new skills and adapted to new situations during COVID-19. You can also learn new skills and become qualified for the role you want.
In summary, imposter syndrome is a feeling of doubt and insecurity that can hold you back from achieving your career goals. It's important to recognize when you're experiencing imposter syndrome and when you're simply not qualified for a role yet. By upskilling and gaining the necessary knowledge and skills, you can become confident in pursuing the career you want. Don't let imposter syndrome hold you back from reaching your full potential. If you haven’t yet, join LearnWorld’s Facebook Group, Teacher Career Transitions (LearnWorld).
About This Post:
About This Post:
This blog post is based on information shared within the Teacher Career Transition Academy. To learn more about this particular topic, refer to the video title “Overcoming Imposter Syndrome as a Career Changer” located within the Teacher Career Transition Academy.
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