As my first anniversary of living in Barcelona is getting closer I am spending some time looking back and re-evaluating my career and life situation. It is far too easy to stay busy with everyday tasks and miss the big picture.

While I was focusing on my personal development in the past year I kind of accepted that it is OK not having a professionally challenging job. However this can be a dangerous path, with a trap one can easily fall into: if there are no challenges, it must be because we already know everything!

Don’t get me wrong I was still learning but that happened outside of daily work. I see it more clearly now that I could improve much faster if work hours would be aligned with my professional growth as well.

With this in mind I’ve decided to look for new opportunities. I started my research to find companies I want to work for. It was a crucial moment when I realized while it’s useful, if I want to be honest with myself, I am procrastinating on sending the applications. I wanted to know more about my fears and fight them. After some self-introspection it turned out that I’m afraid of being inadequate and being a failure in general.

On an absolute scale which step of the career ladder am I on? It feels like I see some steps below me and the next one or two above me but I don’t know where this step exactly is in the industry.

If I wanted to sound scientific I would ask where the line is between the impostor syndrome and the Dunning–Kruger effect.

Source: xkcd

I am convinced that by going through some interviews again will help me cope with these feelings. And I want to gain some insights into where I must improve.

My biggest challenge now is the first company on the list: Toptal web developers group. Their famous 3% filter will give me an accurate assessment of my skills on the market. If I can pass, I will be confident enough to start a new phase of my life as a freelancer developer. Have a look on their ruby hiring guide :)