In Episode 11 of Promoted, Briana Coleman sits down with her former coach, Maisy Adams, to discuss her inspiring journey—from battling imposter syndrome to navigating homelessness—and how she overcame these challenges with the support of Merit America. Learn how she secured two tech roles without prior experience in the field, achieving a combined wage increase of $132,000, and showing what’s possible when you believe in yourself and have a supportive community behind you.
What is Imposter Syndrome?
Imposter syndrome is the feeling of self-doubt and the fear of being exposed as a fraud, even when you’re fully qualified. It often affects career changers entering new industries, especially in tech, where the rapid pace of change can make anyone feel like they’re falling behind.
Simply put, it’s the feeling of not belonging because you perceive your abilities to be less than those around you. It’s a common experience for anyone starting something new, such as a job, moving to a new city, or making a career change.
For many Merit America learners, the question arises: How do you know if you have imposter syndrome? Some common signs include:
- Constant self-doubt: You question whether you’re truly qualified.
- Fear of being exposed: You worry others will eventually realize you’re not capable.
- Undervaluing achievements: You attribute success to external factors rather than your own skills and hard work.
Imposter syndrome is common, but it doesn’t have to hold you back. Briana’s story is a powerful example of how you can overcome it.
How Briana Overcame Imposter Syndrome
Briana’s journey wasn’t easy. After experiencing homelessness and job instability, she felt the weight of imposter syndrome holding her back, questioning whether she could succeed in a tech career without a traditional background.
But her time with Merit America changed everything, as Briana shares, “The value that Merit America brings you is comprehensive. Merit America is a great community-built organization that is truly there for you the whole way through. My advice to any future learners is to just do it. You won’t be disappointed.”
Despite having no prior technological experience, she joined the Merit America IT Support program and spent 140+ hours acquiring technical training focused on providing end-to-end customer support, troubleshooting, debugging, and performing day-to-day IT support tasks, including computer assembly, wireless networking, installing programs, and using systems such as Linux, Domain Name Systems, Command-Line Interface, and Binary Code.
For Briana, the game-changer was being surrounded by a community of peers, coaches, and job success specialists and gaining the ability to silence her inner critic and embrace her potential.
Through the program, Briana worked closely with her Career Coach, Maisy Adams, as they identified Briana’s transferable skills and used them to strategically job search.
With encouragement from Maisy, she realized that her experience with DoorDash and her personal resilience were assets, not weaknesses. This mindset shift, paired with the comprehensive training she received, empowered Briana to secure two high-paying positions—roles she never thought possible.
📌 Related Reading: Is the Google IT Support Certificate Worth It?
Ready to Hear More? Listen to Briana’s Full Story
In Promoted, Episode 11, you’ll learn that the tech sector is notorious for fostering imposter syndrome due to the rapid pace of innovation in the industry. But here’s a spoiler: you do belong and you have what it takes to be successful.
As Briana’s story demonstrates, your past doesn’t define your future success in tech. In fact, employers increasingly value candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences, as tech skills are needed across every industry.
There’s a reason why the industry is so popular—it has room for people of all backgrounds. Listen to Briana’s full story to gain insights into how she identified her niche in the field, gained her Google IT Support Certificate, and leveraged her professional skills to make her biggest career move to date.
Listen to the full episode here →