I just graduated and landed a job that was essentially given to me. My current boss described the job, saying that there will be times where I may have to work a lot, and other days when I may have nothing to do. It’s been 8 months and I have not been assigned work that is related to what I was hired for. Instead, I was asked to work on things that are completely unrelated to the job, just to fill my time. It is not part of the job, and not what was described to me during the interview.

Because of that, I am now looking for another job. But when I informed my current boss, he seems upset that I am leaving before the contract is up. There is another 10 months before the contract is up, and since there is nothing related to the job that I have been doing, I felt like I have been misled into this job, and that there shouldn’t be anything wrong about wanting to leave. When I realised he was unhappy, I also felt that he was selfish. Even though I, too, am selfish (for prioritizing my own growth), I felt like I have to leave. I wake up with dread, even though there’s nothing I do for work. I don’t go to the office, and just essentially stay home everyday doing my own things.

The thing is, I have heard from other people that I was given this job not due to merit, but because of nepotism. My boss likes me and skipped over several more qualified candidates to hire me. When he eventually told me about this, I was (internally) furious because now I am 100% sure that I did not earn this job.

Is it so wrong to want to look for another job that I can feel more engaged at? And one where I can feel like I gotten because of what I can contribute?