Title: I have doubts about my intelligence. I&#x27;m trying to get a Data Science internship and had several interviews. All of them were on combinatorics&#x2F;algorithms, and I failed them, though they were relatively simple. I’ve always been bad at this kind of stuff: I have trouble focusing, especially paying attention to details. I also forget things all the time<p>I’m a 3rd-year student at a university which is considered prestigious here (Russia), but getting in was rather because of my high conscientiousness, not intelligence. I’ve always been average academically, but when needed, simply outworked everybody and got decent grades. It doesn’t seem to work this time. In my country, there aren’t many DS internships, so if I fail a few more interviews, not sure if I can find new opportunities soon. It makes me sad, as I have to find a job for this summer<p>Recent average grades at uni&#x2F;failed interviews in combination with all above made me seriously question my intelligence. There is no Mensa club in my country, but I tried to find reliable IQ tests online: got 86 and 135 on two different ones, have no idea what to make of it. My degree is in economics&#x2F;mathematics, but I’ve been programming since 16, so I thought DS would suit me as a combination of both. In general, I just really love building stuff with my hands (got some personal projects which employers liked), and making smth with ML seemed cool<p>Is there a way to tell if I’m simply not smart enough for this? It’s not just about interview questions: I genuinely feel I’m thinking too slow in general, always felt. Should I try to move to other fields? I’d be glad to find any other technical internship, at least for now, but I have no CS degree which is a requirement for them.<p>I would welcome any advice because the situation kind of depresses me
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