GPT and Grok told me my AI skills are “average” for entry-level… Is that really true?

Okay, I need to vent because this is seriously frustrating.

I’ve been grinding hard on AI/ML, and here’s what I’ve learned and practiced:

• Classic ML: Random Forest, XGBoost, Linear & Logistic Regression
• Supervised and unsupervised learning
• Deep learning: CNNs, LSTMs
• NLP: BERT fine-tunes, text classification
• RAG + LangChain, PDF bots, vector databases, prompt engineering

I spent months building this roadmap, doing mini-projects, learning deployment, the whole deal. And then GPT and Grok basically told me:

What??? All this hard work, all these projects, and it’s still just “average”? That feels like a slap in the face. I thought this would make me stand out, but apparently, everyone is doing the same stuff now.

Is this really true? Am I wasting my time chasing what’s considered “table stakes” in AI now? Or is there a way to turn all this knowledge into something that actually makes me stand out?

I’d love to hear from other AI/ML folks what actually makes someone unique today in this field?