Your comment reminds me a bit of something I heard years ago from a manager at Facebook claiming …

For me, I didn't become a software developer until my late 20s, because I was largely intimidated by it, despite being relatively geeky and tech oriented as a teen. There was no one in my small town I knew that went on to become a software dev. And I tended to place devs on a pedestal in my own head, about how smart they were or whatever. I definitely had the imposter syndrome in the first few years of my career. Working my way through community college then onto a top tier computer science university, and then participating in a startup where I got to live in Silicon Valley for a while, I learned that a lot of people in the industry aren't exceptional geniuses. Having access to that network of people in Silicon Valley though, especially at the time (less important nowadays I would argue), was crucial to so many people's success at getting good advice, using the right technologies and bu…

That it 'doesn't apply to you' or 'everyone' really isn't the point here. Obviously it doesn't apply to everyone. Have you seen how many people in Hollywood have famous relatives in the industry? It's the same for any industry. It's very common. Growing up, I wouldn't have fathomed what it meant to be a screen writer. I literally did not know what the job entailed, other than 'writing'. Nothing. My Uncle was an Engineer, hanging out with him I saw how that worked, became interested a bit, ended up recognizing how important 'Math' etc. was, worked on a couple of related projects etc.. Eventually getting an internship because of a family member. It was a small favour but a big deal. And even aside from opportunities, all of the small things, habits, perspective and behaviours of a class of people expected to perform certain functions. Anyone can be whatever but it's far more likely that th…