A few things here jump out to me... Put your happiness and well-being first. It's easy for me to suggest that you take the new position and bank $$$ for 6-12 m

A few things here jump out to me... Put your happiness and well-being first. It's easy for me to suggest that you take the new position and bank $$$ for 6-12 months and get out before the feelings of disappointment set in, but only you know whether this is something you want or am able to do. Do what you can to keep yourself out of a role that makes you not want to get up in the morning, or staring at the clock anxiously waiting to leave. Don't feel bad about being able to find work for yourself, and don't feel bad if the role is not what you expected/wanted. Finding the right gig takes some skill of its own, and a lot of luck (or someone you know you can tell you what it's truly like there...) It sounds like you are projecting from the roles/companies to yourself as a programmer and then as an individual. Never, ever conflate the competency of what you do with the type of person you are. You may write code a living, but the quality and performance of that code does not define who you are. No one is a perfect fit for every role and every company, and some roles and companies are plain toxic. It sounds like you have stuck around at places too long. You've been exposed to the office politics, questioned/been questioned about your performance, realized it's not a good fit but have not moved on, etc. If it's not what you were expected, if it's not what you wanted, there's no shame in looking to move on. Imagine getting married to someone after going on a blind date. That's a lot like how jobs are acquired in IT, unfortunately. It sounds as if you're getting opportunities for a job, and not to challenge yourself. You mentioned the money issues, the similarity between roles, etc. Sometimes this is outside of our control, but it wouldn't hurt to think of what you would like to do and prioritize that in new roles.