Senior Developer. Still Lost.

Short summary

A senior developer reflects on imposter syndrome resurfacing with AI tools like Copilot—the same uncertainty felt as a beginner before mastery clicked. The essay traces an 18-year journey showing how expertise emerges from a pattern: copy code → struggle to understand → gain fluency through repetition. AI resets this learning cycle, raising questions about developer growth when tools automate the hardest problems.

• •Imposter syndrome resurfaces with AI tools despite 18 years of development experience
• •Real mastery comes from struggle and repetition, not instant comprehension
• •AI coding tools reset the learning cycle, prompting reflection on how developers grow

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.