I'll second (or third etc) those that previously said you need to sit back and take some perspective. 26 y/o with what looks to be some good experience, and a

I'll second (or third etc) those that previously said you need to sit back and take some perspective. 26 y/o with what looks to be some good experience, and a CS degree at a top 10 university with an emergency fund that can carry you through that much unemployment? You have it made. Maybe I just don't get that sort of drive? Don't get me wrong, I have drive, I'm just guessing not that much. Here's some perspective (and I'm a fortunate soul too): I'm 38. I didn't go to college out of high school, I went into the Marines. I wanted to be a Journalist, but I didn't score high enough on the ASVAB apparently and got stuck with an Audio/Video job. I was far from a Valedictorian, I scraped by with Bs and Cs. Fast forward years later, having worked many other jobs from factories/warehouses to gas stations; I grew weary and went to college. I was 27. How did you think I felt after little to no career success? I switched Majors three times. Started with the intention of doing Physical Therapy, switched to Pre-Pharmacy, then Biochemistry - struggled immensely, and finally went CS, sort of. I picked a CIS degree because it would have been another year of college to do the CS (the math would have added much of that). I graduated at 31. I'm not a ninja programmer, and compared to much of HN I'd have to agree I'm pretty mediocre. So there you have it, one additional perspective in this enjoyable thread. One more data point to show you that you have more than you think, and shouldn't always compare yourself to the extreme outliers. Edit: for what it's worth, I'm relatively happy with myself as a person if not super proud of my current situation in my career (making much less than I could be).