impostor syndrome is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".
of course it's about alienation, not that they're lazy or inherently bad in some way:
"If you don't like your job, you don't strike. Just go in every day and do it really half assed. That's the American way!" - comrade Homer Simpson
yeah academia is such a shit show compared to the 'real world'.
I am in a phd program and think about dropping out all the time, and then i have my "real" job and I realize that i know waaayyy more than i realize. it's a total mindfuck.