I’ve never been a reporter.
You might think this is how one gets into journalism, but there are a few roads. Mine was columnist, copyed, opinion editor, running the fucking paper.
As I start my third week as a reporter, there’s much that is just strange. My reporters never deigned to tell me I was wrong, but I frequently tell my editor as much.
“Look, we don’t have a story here until DOE links what was in the press release” is apparently competence. Like, this is just obvious. No, I don’t need praise for pointing out a glaring hole in a story.
I just wake up and am myself, and I’m somehow paid for this. Given all the bullshit surrounding corporate roles, I’m left agape at how this still exists and my ability to just slide into something I’ve never done.
Impostor syndrome is feeling like you aren’t qualified for a post that you are.
The opposite, would be feeling like you are qualified for a post you are not.
What you describe, seems like over-competence, rather than either of those. Congrats 🎉