To jack in my ‘good graduate job’ and change direction at 24?

At 24, you absolutely should be pursuing something that interests you. But I agree with others - you need a plan, so that you’re moving towards something new and exciting, not just running away from a boring job.

I’d strongly advise against a PGCE. Teaching is brutal in terms of workload and stress levels and won’t improve your quality of life.

What are your hobbies and interests?
Is travel a true priority or are you looking at it as an escape/respite from a boring job? Where would you like to go?
How do you really feel about moving to London? Relocating elsewhere?

Take your parents’ opinions out of the equation for a moment. They love you, but they are also thinking in that very risk averse way that loving parents do, and ultimately it’s YOUR life to take ‘risks’ with, not theirs.

God there's some terrible advice on this thread. Stay in a job you hate at 24? Fertility "falls off a cliff" after 30? Ignore these prophets of doom, OP. Bin the job and get on a plane!

You've got another 44 years to work, this is not the time to be wedded to a particular role. Said by others already but your 20s is a wonderful time of career freedom when you can easily "shop around" and try and find what you want. Staying in the same job forever isn't really a thing anymore.

Go and explore the world!

Civil service doesn't mean applying for a grad scheme!
Most jobs are advertised via Civil Service jobs (website). You sound like you have a huge dose of imposter syndrome so maybe seek out the YouTube videos about applying for the Civil Service and understanding its slightly odd way of applying. Once you get one job you can apply for secondments etc and try all kinds of things.
24 is too young to settle.

You can start in the civil service without going on the TV graduate scheme it just means starting lower down,their Change Management team might be something that interests you.

Wherever you end up you also need to get out and about alone so you don't watch life pass you buy, volunteer at nature reserve or the local theatre as an usher whatever interests you to stop new roots and get a more rounded life. If you don't already go to the cinema / theatre / eat out alone of you like those things. No one knows why your alone you could've on a work trip etc and means you don't miss out just because you've not got anyone to go with.

Look to see if you have a women's circle I your area, they are a social group for women and do activities either altogether or split into different age groups to help build friendships.

If you want to travel can you pair that with working and swan off somewhere for a few years working abroad. Your parents are not you, you get one life and likely only one decade where you are footloose and fancy free if you see marriage and children in your future.

The OP isn't terrified in the conventional sense, eg being chase through the forest by a stranger. 'Terrified' appears to be a synonym for 'mildly worried' for the young.

As others have said don't just resign but definitely look for another opportunities, you're young enough to change direction even do some kind of training course if you need to to get you into something you'll enjoy! Do it now while you have less responsibilities.
My DH kind of fell into his career after uni getting a first job then other jobs progressing on from that then about 6 years ago realised he was really unhappy and in the wrong career from him, he ended up switching career paths which meant a pay cut initially, it has paid off now and he's much happier but it was really hard to struggle with less money for those couple of years when we had 2 kids and a mortgage- would have been much better if he'd done it at 24!!!

You shouldn't be terrified at 'starting over' at 24. This is the perfect time. You have no dependents or real ties and some proper work experience under your belt which puts you ahead of other graduates even if you're applying for roles outside your current industry. Also think you shouldn't be scared to consider London. It might seem daunting but really it's just a 'collection of villages' (ok, quite noisy ones) and with some research you could fine a neighbourhood that suits you.
And I agree with others that you're heeding your parents' concerns too greatly. Don't do this and become depressed, bitter and resentful. You've already realised you want something different from life. Treat this as an exciting crossroads.

Is it the nature of the work itself or the work environment that’s an issue? Could you see yourself doing a similar role in a city, perhaps based at a university with hundreds of new graduates and post docs around, or in the charity / private sector?

Have a think about whether it would make you happier to live in a new area where it’s easier to meet people your own age, and perhaps commute back to your job until you’ve transitioned to one that suits you better.

Life is short. You are young, start looking at what else is out there. You can't live your life to please your parents!

You are sooo young. Don’t look back in ten years and think why didn’t I move then.

I live in London but there are many other great cities with decent job prospects and a thriving social scene. It’s not London or nothing.

As long as you can fund yourself, do some travelling if you want. Could you do a TEFL course and spend some time teaching English abroad?

Do not accept this is your life. Twenties are for finding yourself, growing and meeting people. Don’t settle for this claustrophobic existence so young.

You're in the wrong job and that can be soul destroying, as you're finding. Start a systematic job hunt, looking at all the options, but don't leave until you've found something else and have the new job all lined up.
Your parents are being ridiculous, and unfair. Few people have their forever career at 24. All jobs have their boring bits but if the entire job bores you, you need to change something. Don't settle for second best.

Could you train to become a therapist? Everyone I speak to (and almost everyone on Mumsnet!) seems to have seen or be seeing a therapist so there's obviously a big demand. You could go self employed or, presumably, there are positions within the NHS and other large organisations.

It’s great you have recognised you want something different to the life you have now. Make sure you are thinking about what it is YOU want, not what your parents think, not what you have seen other peers do. But about what you think could work for you. There are plenty of cities outside of London to consider too, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Bristol, Cardiff to name a few! I never understood the obsession with the place myself 😀

agree with PP that the civil service could be a good place to start. I started in the GSS as an EO years ago and worked up to SEO within 5 years. Wasn’t on fast track or anything like that, but those opportunities are there if you wanted them! Working as a badged professional in the civil service is great as you get exposure to a vast array of subjects, some roles will be super interesting, others less so, but that’s just life. Keep in mind, many people don’t start off in their “dream job”, it can take a little while to get there and you have to forge the path yourself. I left CS after a decade and am now working in an industry I love in a job I never would have thought I could do if I saw it on paper.

Here is a link to the GSS site, your skills sound like a great fit so have a look and see if its something you might be interested in

https://analysisfunction.civilservice.gov.uk/careers/joining-the-analysis-function/

Good luck!

Ah sweetheart you are bored in work and lonely outside of it, no wonder you feel depressed. You are doing the right thing to recognise this and think about what to change.

There will always be houses for sale and there will always be careers to follow. You can spend money on travelling and then earn more money in future, you have skills and talent so there is always another payday on the horizon. (Maybe don’t use the phrase ‘low level’ jobs though. Every job is important regardless of salary.)

I think society makes young adults feel they must be on this particular conveyor belt and never step off, or you will miss an opportunity to ‘get on’.

My advice is if you want to go travelling, bloody well do it. You have done uni, a masters, Covid era, a boring job… now fucking go and see the world!!

Get looking OP! You spend a lot of your time at work and although very few jobs are fun all the time your work shouldn't be making you depressed. You don't have ties so you're flexible to relocate, retrain, and take a pay cut with a view to building up your earning power again soon. It's the perfect time of life to dip your toe into a few things to find the best fit.

I'm 46 and have fallen out of love with my main job (I have a sessional job that I love but will not be able to do more than 2 days weekly) but have financial and geographical ties blocking off some options. But I'm still having a really good think about a significant pay cut to change careers, as the thought of grinding it out for another 20 years is not appealing.

Your fertility most certainly does not "fall off a cliff" at 30. Don't spread misinformation. It slowly starts to decline at 30 then speeds up at 35.
OP I have had 3 major careers in my life, changed most recently at 42. At 24 I was travelling the world and not giving a fuck about a career. I may not be a top earner (though earn above average) but my life has been very interesting and fulfilling. I would take that over lots of money.

Don't be silly. She's only 24! She doesn't like her job and doesn't like the town she's in anymore.

There's absolutely no reason for her to stay put.

OP, what would be your absolute dream job if you could do anything in the world?

24 is right at the start of your career, you have so many options available to you but I get that it feels daunting to move from where you are.

I would try to extract as much value as you can from your current job - are there opportunities to take on more responsibility, like leading a project, starting a new team? Will they pay for qualifications or training? Upskill yourself on their £ if you can, it may even lead you to new opportunities within your organisation

You may also want to talk to a recruitment consultant, they can work out where you’d be a good fit.

and Re civil service jobs - I’ve never come across time in post as a requirement at all, don’t let how long you’ve been working put you off a role. The old fast stream lasted 4 years (ish) and afterwards you move to grade 7. So you can absolutely aim for HEO/SEO posts with 2 years experience.

No, it's all about your aptitude for the job and there's an element of luck in taking opportunities as they arise.

I searched for psychology as a keyword on civil service jobs for EO, HEO and SEO positions and there's a few jobs that come up in prisons.

Some of these are for registered psychologist which I assume that you don't qualify for but there are several jobs like 'interventions facilitator' which looks like assessing prisoners for appropriate treatment programmes.

www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi?SID=c2VhcmNoc29ydD1zY29yZSZvd25lcj01MDcwMDAwJmpvYmxpc3Rfdmlld192YWM9MTkxMTA3NiZvd25lcnR5cGU9ZmFpciZzZWFyY2hwYWdlPTEmdXNlcnNlYXJjaGNvbnRleHQ9ODM2MjcwNjQmcGFnZWNsYXNzPUpvYnMmcGFnZWFjdGlvbj12aWV3dmFjYnlqb2JsaXN0JnJlcXNpZz0xNzE3OTE5MDU5LWYzMzY1Y2U2YmI3N2ZhOWM2OTY2M2FlMGY1NTE3MzU2NWVhOThkMGU=

What type of work would you like to do? Is there a particular sector that you think you’d enjoy working in? Don’t assume that you either have to stay where you are or move to London. Listen to pp who suggest moving to a northern city, as one of my DC did this and was able to think about buying their own home straight away.

I was 24 when I left a ‘good’ job for something that I actually wanted to do, but I planned it for 6 months before I did it. It’s one of the best decisions I made almost 40 years ago!

Sounds like the people around you are the thing that's the biggest problem just now. Not the job surprisingly!

Start looking at options. Can you meet up with your old pals or whatever a bit more. Join a club or organisation to meet friends etc. Go into the office one day a week. Get a new flatshare.

If you do leave your post perhaps you could take a career break for a year so you have something in reserve to come back to?

If you want to travel bows the time though.