I recently left a job that I liked for another that paid more. After 6 months I went back to my old job. The pay definitely wasn’t worth going somewhere that didn’t pique my interests and utilize my skills. I’m back in the old (slightly) lower paying job and I’ve never been happier.
that said, I added some additional from-home work on the side in the meantime. I happen to have a skill set where I can contract with outside parties and still work full time at a 9-5 job. Interestingly, it is CS/Web development.
HOWEVER - If I were you, I’d be looking for a niche in the coding area. Anyone can be a coder, what makes a coder special and in demand is their ability to code AND understand the industry they work in, as well as how to communicate with the people that work in that industry. It so happens I don’t have any CS degree at all (I have undergrads in English lit and creative writing and a masters in education), and this turns out to be my strength in comparison to others that might compete with me for consulting clientele.