This reminds me of a situation I was in (though probably not as directly insulted as you were). But I took developing my skills very seriously, and most likely became better than my boss and his peers within a couple of years of hitting this stuff intensely, and better than my coworkers that he took seriously, within about six months of starting (despite having no prior experience myself, and them either having experience or having gone to college for it). And I only get better and better, because I'm obsessed with development my skills - I carry this mentality all the time. So it's more amusing than anything to think back on this situation where now I realize just how much of beginners they really were. It caused me severe anxiety and confidence in problems when I left my job (the place was overall very toxic), but what has helped a lot is building my skills up to the point where I feel worthy of my role, and knowing that I am good at something, and much better than a lot of people at that. I'm now at a better company where I make better money and people respect you.