A long tenure is often attractive, and you can truthfully say that after giving them a good shot and investing a lot of effort in trying to make the situation b

A long tenure is often attractive, and you can truthfully say that after giving them a good shot and investing a lot of effort in trying to make the situation better, you're ready to move on. The fact that you haven't "shipped code" isn't your fault: you're not in sales or business development. The glowing reviews and the fact that you've stuck it out for so long are both examples that you're a good employee. As for "transferable skills" - yeah - it's a problem because douchebag recruiters just look for little acronyms. If you can afford to take 6 months off, you could do a course in something or other. Self motivated continuing professional development is often looked upon favourably. During this time you could also make it your business to develop in open source communities to broaden your knowledge and take up some pet projects.