Employment before graduate school - high paying job or experience?

[staxdo_21]

Hi there, 

After contemplating graduate school for many years, with much consideration for my area of study, I finally decided that I would like to pursue a Master's in American Studies. I plan to apply to graduate school in two years. My question is whether to stay at my current place of employment or move onto a more intellectually challenging position that will most likely pay me less. 

Current Position
Pros:

• a highly prestigious academic institute that could potentially bolster my CV
• friendships with faculty, and staff
• world-class speakers and programming that I sometimes have access to
• solid compensation and matching pension
• lively discussions on diversity and inclusion

Cons:

• the position itself is considered entry level - which I didn't know when I accepted it
• I also thought I would gain grant writing experience in the role but there doesn't seem to be any possibility for that development 
• my responsibilities are pretty menial and incredibly boring
• an incredible amount of office drama and low morale among staff
• little opportunities for professional growth 

Before I was absolutely sure about the course of study I wanted to pursue, I became interested in Foundation Relations, which I am still interested in. Thus far, I've taken a course in grant writing and work on a friend's Board of Directors as a grant writer. After recently becoming more frustrated in my current role, I began applying for positions directly related to grant writing and am starting to hear back from a few. However, on average, they pay about 20% less than my current position. I imagine that it will be a similar story for other positions I come upon given that my current organization has the privilege to compensate us fairly well. 

I don't want to make any fast and hard decisions but I also don't want to miss out on potential opportunities. Should I make the leap into one of these roles that would provide some intellectual stimulation and also help me maintain my writing skills? Or should I continue building connections at the job I am at now? Other ideas are to look for research jobs or to use the experience at one of these other organizations to move into a position at a better organization. That's also a lot of jumping around prior to graduate school. 

I'd appreciate any thoughts you'd like to share. 

Thanks!