[d4rkph1b3r]

I was in the industry for 12 years struggling until I made a good salary. Before then I was making 90k or less some years. Sometimes it takes a while.

The awesome thing about the tech industry... what you did or make this year doesn't affect what you can make two years from now all that much.

>What did you do to keep head high and still achieve something great in life

Be confident you can eventually get where you want, but realistic about how many weaknesses you have and how long it will take to get there. This might be a two year path for you to get that dream job.

In the mean time, you can't spend 100% of your time stressing about how you aren't growing/progressing fast enough. Partition your free time into both 'learn/grow' and 'goof off/relax' time. You absolutely need the latter too. Study your tech books, practice coding etc.

For me, no matter how crappy or great my week is, friday night I have a couple drinks with friends or my GF and don't think about work. If I stay up all night working, I try to read a fiction book for fifteen or twenty minutes before falling asleep. Little things like that will keep you sane and happy for the marathon it will take to get to where you need to be.