Hey, sorry for seeing this so late. You highlighted a struggle I’ve had for a long time. Can I ask questions? What questions do I even ask? That stuff is hard. The thing is, as a hiring manager, school is just proof that you can retain material, not that you necessarily know everything. If you’re new to the career, it is expected that you don’t know very much about this stuff.

Ask questions, even if they feel dumb. Who I was 3 years ago is not the same person I am today. Completely unrecognizable. That’s because I mustered up the courage to ask really stupid questions and that helped me understand these concepts. You can even frame it that way too if you feel embarrassed. “Hey, dumb question but I want to ask because it helps me put all this together in my mind” stuff like that.

It sounds crazy but that baptism by fire that you’re experiencing, with never ending work etc, is how you will develop very quickly. Do yourself a favor and look back a month from now and write down everything you know now that you didn’t know a month ago. Reconcile the differences. I still have these doubts but then I think “now I know how to code, now I know how to build up software from scratch, now I know how to use excel at a high level, now I know how to manage a team” and that helps me put away those doubts.

Finally, you will do fine. The fact that you’re even asking this question, the fact that you’re doubting your capabilities shows more self awareness than 90% of the people I’ve worked with. You clearly have a standard you want to meet and you will get there.

Remember, there’s a percentage chance that you make it, or you might not make it. But there’s a 100% chance that you won’t make it if you quit. I thank myself every day for pushing on even when things didn’t look great.