How to Center a Div (And Still Feel Like a Fraud): Impostor Syndrome in Tech

You’ve been recruited by the company you wanted to join, promoted to a higher position, or invited to work on an interesting project. But instead of feeling proud of your achievement, you start to doubt yourself. You wonder if you’re really as competent or brilliant as others think, and you worry that it’s only a matter of time before someone realizes you’re not actually qualified.

In a world that’s moving so fast — the tech world — there’s a high chance you’ve felt something like this. That creeping sense of “I shouldn’t be here”? That’s what we call impostor syndrome. It describes people who’ve actually put in the time and effort to learn the skills needed to do their job, and yet, they still feel unqualified.

Let’s not confuse impostor syndrome with lying on your résumé. Impostor syndrome is when you’ve actually done the work; you’ve studied, practiced, built things, but still feel like you don’t deserve your seat at the table. Lying on your résumé, on the other hand, is when you actually have no idea what you’re doing but somehow finessed your way in. One is a confidence issue. The other is… a future case study for the HR department.

Impostor syndrome isn’t always loud. Sometimes, it just sits quietly in the back of your mind, making you doubt yourself. And it doesn’t show up the same way for everyone. It can change as you grow in your career. So let’s break it down, here are the ways I’ve seen (and felt) it show up.

Comparison Culture (GitHub, Twitter, etc.)

When you open GitHub or LinkedIn, it suddenly seems like every developer under 25 has built a new JS framework, written a book, started a YouTube channel, and launched their fifth startup, all while you’re still trying to figure out why your Docker container won’t build.

Remember that most people only post their wins, not their bugs, breakdowns, or burnout. And If you’re comparing your messy behind the scenes with everyone else’s highlights, you’re guaranteed to feel like you’re falling behind. It’s like comparing your local dev environment to someone else’s perfectly linted production build.

The Infinite Knowledge Trap

The deeper you go in tech, the more you realize how much you don’t know. And that’s not a sign of failure, that’s just how it is.

There’s always a new framework, a new database, a new AI-powered thing you’re supposed to master by Tuesday. It’s like watching One Piece just when you think you’re finally catching up, the story drops a hundred more episodes, three new arcs, and a plot twist no one saw coming.

This is normal. Tech isn’t a game you finish, it’s an ongoing path. And you don’t need to master every single thing to be a great developer.

You just need to know how to learn.

With continuous learning often comes continuous doubt — but that doubt doesn’t mean you’re falling behind. It means you’re still growing.

Toxic Productivity: “Tech Gurus” Can Burn You Out

Let’s get real, Tech culture has a productivity problem. If you’re not building a side project, tweeting dev tips, contributing to open source, AND writing a blog post (hi), you start to feel like you’re not keeping up.

Constantly grinding isn’t the answer. Not everyone has the energy, time, or desire to live and breathe code 24/7. And guess what? That’s okay.

Being well-rested makes you a better developer than staying up all night with messy code and no sleep.

And don’t get too caught up in those dramatic YouTube thumbnails from people saying “This tech is dead” or “Why you’ll never make it”, usually while calling themselves ex-Google, ex-Facebook. Just because someone’s yelling on the internet doesn’t mean they’re right. You’re learning, improving, failing sometimes and that’s what really matters.

The Quiet/Underrated Skills

You can be a brilliant dev without having a GitHub graph that looks like the Matrix. Soft skills like communication, debugging, and knowing when to ask questions? These are power moves. Not everyone needs to be a genius algorithm hacker. There’s just as much value in the dev who patiently helps a teammate, explains something clearly, or writes readable code that doesn’t make future-you cry.

Stop measuring yourself by noisy metrics. The quiet stuff often speaks louder in real teams.

Saying “I Don’t Know” Is a Power Move

One of the most freeing things you can say in general, not only in tech is:

I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out.

It’s a phrase that shows humility, honesty, and curiosity — the three pillars of lifelong learning. Nobody expects you to know everything. The industry changes too fast for that. What people appreciate is how you respond to not knowing. It’s the difference between faking confidence and building competence.

🛠️ Bonus: How to Actually Center a div in 2024

Okay okay, you made it this far — here’s the real deal.

With Flexbox:

.parent-container {
  display: flex; /* Activates Flexbox layout */
  justify-content: center; /* Centers child horizontally */
  align-items: center; /* Centers child vertically */
}

With Grid :

.parent-container {
  display: grid; /* Activates Grid layout */
  place-items: center; /* Shortcut to center both horizontally & vertically */
}

And if the idea of centering a div still makes your palms sweaty, you’re not alone — I’ve already written about why CSS sends people running.

Conclusion: You’re Still a Real Developer

Impostor syndrome doesn’t mean you’re unconfident. It just means you care about doing good work, about learning, about not messing things up. But here’s the catch: caring too much without recognizing your progress can make you feel like you’re stuck, even when you’re not.

So next time you feel like a fraud because you forgot the syntax, just remember that you’re not alone, and you’re not faking it. You’re just navigating a field that changes faster than half your packages get deprecated.

You don’t need to know everything. You just need to stay curious, keep asking questions.

You belong here. Div centered or not.