I'm consistently baffled at why software engineering is the only engineering to obsess over a mythical "10x" contributor. Mechanical, electrical, civil, and chemical engineers do not have this concept.

What makes an excellent engineer is risk mitigation and designing systems under a variety of possible constraints. This design is performed using models of the domains involved and understanding when and where these models hold and where they break down. There's no "10x". There is just being accountable for designing excellent systems to perform as desired.

If there were a "10x" software engineer, such an engineer would prevent data breaches from occurring, which is a common failure mode in software to the detriment of society. I want to see 10x less of that.