I just wish employers would stop focusing on hiring 10x engineers, and instead focus on how to create an environment in which the overall standard can improve.

I just wish employers would stop focusing on hiring 10x engineers, and instead focus on how to create an environment in which the overall standard can improve. What I mean is - you can take a superior engineer and put them in a crappy environment, and they will fail. Likewise, you can take an average engineer and surround them with support and they will produce a multiple of their raw talent. Focus on the things that make it possible to produce at a high level. For that matter, it strikes me that often those people that companies believe are producing at a high level, aren't. I saw this a lot in consulting - companies think Jimmy is just the bees knees, but in fact the reason he looks like a hero is that his junk is broken and he's constantly having to firefight to fix it. Often too, the loudest engineer in the room shouts down everyone else and "looks" like a leader when they are really the villain. I saw for myself - there were places in my career where I was super productive, and places where I hardly produced anything. It had everything to do with the environment: politics, communication style, teammates, technology, and problem domain.