It appears to me that you are discouraged when you compare yourself to others and that you are seeing through the artificial nature of academic progress. I've been there and I can assure you that in hindsight it will all pass.
Since you are doing well in exams, just push through. It's like climbing Mt Everest but with far less frost-bite.
I am confused as to whether you still have a job and are doing post-grad at the same time. If so, then you are probably suffering from burn-out. Might be good to scale down the job and just concentrate on some outside interests to mitigate the burn-out. Post-grad typically only takes a year or two. So the end is in sight.
As for growing in the field finish the MCS first. Then if you choose academia then pursue some niche that resonates with you. If returning to industry then it might help to choose a field which you find interesting. Once you are solving specific problems then you will follow the areas of CS which are most relevant.
When was the last time you had a break, let alone an honest to Crom vacation?
It sounds like you're thoroughly sick of your work, but can't or won't consciously admit it even to yourself, so your body is staging a wildcat strike.
I've been developing software for over twenty years, and when this happens to me I get the hell away from computers for a bit.
Good luck.
I started doing some side activities (gym, theater, creative writing) etc but haven't taken time of in... years? (i use my PTO from work to study for uni exams)...
I also lift, and I've written and published some fiction that's basically Hawkmoon on a Harley, but when I get as burned out as you seem to be, I can't do anything resembling intellectual or creative work.
Or, rather, I can, but just slowly and half-assed.
It sounds like you need at least a weekend where you do absolutely nothing, like post-hypnotic Peter Gibbons in Mike Judge's 1999 accidental documentary Office Space. Just sleep. It sounds like you're worn the hell out.
It also sounds like you're killing yourself to live.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCehccEZzX4
I should think about it soon enough... exam season is closer than ever... shit i do wish to go on top of a mountain and never come back doe... Kaczynski style (with less bombs)
I don't blame you for wanting out. I regularly fantasize about retiring to Montana, where I'll grow dental floss and write manifestos.
Of course, if you're not into Frank Zappa you won't get the bit about dental floss; it's in a song called "Montana".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs0CGOwWmCI
No bombs, of course, because while a bullet can have your name on it, AOE damage is addressed "to whom it may concern" and I don't want to hurt some poor schmuck who didn't have it coming. Though if a Republican annoys me I might mail them some Anthrax albums. See what they make of Persistence of Time or Among the Living.