sadamznintern, are you Asian by any chance? Because I'm Chinese, and I feel that this "comparison" sort of mindset has been ingrained into me since I was born and I've struggled to ignore it my whole life. It most likely came from hearing the sort of reverence my dad would have for people that made it (hold an Ivy League degree, become a doctor/lawyer/banker/someone of prestigious esteem, have FU money, etc.), and the sort of resentment he held for himself not having made it, and projected onto me. I flunked out of the best university in my city/province, and imagine how angry he was that I ended up in a community college (to him, lack of prestige signal = trash). Its the same mindset/attitude that holds a sort of disdain for arts majors, any occupation that doesn't spell out long-term stability and financial capability. I also found myself not really respecting someone off the bat unless I saw that they went to a proper brand-name school on LinkedIn, and while I know its irrational, the feelings are still triggered. Its pretty unhealthy black-or-white thinking, which tends to make one judge and tyrannize oneself.

Imagine the rude awakening and cognitive dissonance I've had over the years as I've met people who barely went to school but were way better programmers than I am.