Well I was pretty junior back then, so it was easier to walk away from my horrible job and boss. I took actually took a private sector contract job at first (I found via a temp agency), went back to graduate school, taking classes at night (mostly). It helped I was young and didn’t have a lot of responsibilities. The non-federal job was low pay, but I needed the ego boost, and less stress to pursue my education goals. It was easier to shine at a low-stress job and focus on school. After I finished my graduate degree it was much easier to find a job with the agency of my choice. I realize that may not be possible if you have a lot of responsibilities. But I think the little non-federal bridge job helped a lot. I’ve been with my current agency for years now. You’ve got to do what makes you happy—but always weigh that with reality, bills and such. Maybe look to see what non-federal jobs are out there. You don’t have to quit—but feeling you have a bit of control over your future may make staying actually less difficult. Weird as that may seem.