Several years ago I was walking back to my hotel after a day's worth of DerbyCon talks and it hit me all at once. "I'm an infosec fraud. I'm not finding 0-day exploits. I'm not hacking cars or Internets of Things and I don't know PowerShell. I don't belong in infosec." It was a hard revelation to grasp because I loved infosec and the people in it. But that was my "truth" back then and I went home and looked for jobs outside of the computer industry. [SPOILER ALERT] I didn't leave our industry. Instead, I threw myself into the community and tried to conquer those feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt.
Does this sound like someone you know? If so, come join me and learn not only about "Imposter Syndrome" but how I am dealing with it and how you and your colleagues can too.
Micah is an active member in the NoVAHackers community, a certified SANS instructor, writes Recon-ng modules, and runs a number of open source projects. When not working, teaching, or learning, Micah can be found hiking or backpacking on the Appalachian Trail or on the many park trails in Maryland.