Ask HN: Does anybody else feel overwhelmed while reading HN?

I've been programming for about 4 years now. During that time I've become an integral part of my team and have constantly been learning. Despite this I always read comments on HN and feel like there is SO much to learn that I'll never have the time for. I work at a big company and desperately want to leave so I have been dedicating time to prepare for interviews (pretty much just CTCI at this point). Even if I do get better at my interviews and land a job elsewhere, I'm worried that either I'll 1) not be as good as the other engineers there and they will quickly notice or 2) will basically feel the same as I do now. Hopefully the latter doesn't happen. My work environment is pretty negative right now so maybe a change of scenery will help.

Anyway, back to the original question. Does anybody else come on here and feel overwhelmed? Too much to learn, a lot of other people out there who are so much better than you etc. Could be just me, the Bay Area, or tech in general.

I simply accept and take advantage of the fact that HN is filled with many people much smarter, much more accomplished, much more driven, much more successful than me. I've never felt overwhelmed by it - that seems like it would take a personal choice to put yourself in competition with the best of HN, which seems a little silly to me (especially if the end result is not something productive).

The old adage of not comparing your life to somebody else's highlight reel is valid for HN as well.

You'll never master everything. No one does. Take it easy. You say you've become an integral part of your team and that you're constantly learning. You seem to be on the right path.

I was overwhelmed at first. Every time a Show HN would pop up, I was amazed at how individuals could deliver on so much alone. So I accepted these things:

- There will always be people who are better than you, in any field. I see it as a positive and a great learning opportunity.

- There will never be time to learn everything you want to learn.

The question I try to answer is: Am I doing the best I can at the moment? Of course, this can also lead to complacency.

What you are feeling is the exact opposite of hubris. It is good that you feel overwhelmed by looking at the universe of possible technologies and the pace of change within them. It sounds to me like you need to make peace with that, and then decide for yourself where you want to build expertise. You can extreme depth, extreme breadth, or something in between. According to IDC, worldwide IT spending is going to be around $2.5trillion this year. Its a big world with tons of products, disciplines, people, and very little of it is totally static. In fact, large swaths of IT probably get very little mention on HN.

To reiterate though, pick your battles, follow your interests/employment possibilities, and make peace with the fact that you can't know everything.