There is no shame in being an average or below average software engineer. I would know, I am one myself. The key is to remember that we have one of the best job

There is no shame in being an average or below average software engineer. I would know, I am one myself. The key is to remember that we have one of the best jobs in human history. You get paid an incredible amount of money, you can work from just about any place you want - from the most modern cities to a remote cabin in the countryside - and you have great job security. You can work for yourself as a freelancer and control your schedule, or work as an employee and have structure and security. If one place doesn't treat you well, there are countless other places that will hire you. Not everyone gets to be above average or amazing at their job, so stop comparing yourself to other people. But if you really can't stop comparing yourself to other people, compare yourself to people in other trades. There are expert chefs, top 10%, and their job pays far less, demands far more hours, and is much more cutthroat than yours. There are musicians, athletes, artists, and performers who have spent almost every moment of their free time practicing their trade since they were kids, but they struggle to pay the bills or even find someone to hire them at all in their desired line of work. Just accept that, and forget about job titles. Don't find your identity in your title or in how you stack up compared to your peers. Just find a place to work where you can learn every day and that pays the bills, and then enjoy the life that you have inside and outside of work. You may never be a Mozart of software engineering, but that's really okay. You can still make beautiful, useful things and build a rich life being average. :-)