You have to figure out where your priorities lie first and foremost. If you're going to quit that job without having another lined up, then I think the smart thing to do is build an emergency fund IMMEDIATELY of 6-9 months of necessary expenses. This will cushion you until you get a new job.

If your priority is to move out, make sure you have your emergency fund built up first, then save what you estimate you will need to relocate, including first month's rent, security deposit, deposit for utilities, plus furnishings. The last thing you want to do is run up credit card debt to do all of that.

As far as the retirement savings goes - you should contribute as much as you can as soon as you can from what I've read about it. Plus, if your employer (current or future if you plan on getting another job) offers a 401(k) plan with a matching program you should sign up immediately.

I'm a corporate tax accountant, and it was relatively easy to find a job where my employer had a 401(k) match. If you're still interested in staying in accounting, and you're in a large urban area, try one of the "big four" accounting firms for an entry level position. They're all usually hiring.

I wouldn't make a move to pay off the student loan debt until you have an emergency fund built up, decide what the plan is on moving out, and are contributing to a retirement savings account of some kind.

I work for a privately owned company in their corporate tax department. It depends on whether its busy season or not, but I work anywhere between your normal 40 hour workweeks (when we aren't busy) to close to 50 or 60 hour weeks when we ARE busy - the good thing is - busy season really only lasts about a month or so. I'm not forced to work those hours, I choose to - and mostly unknowingly. There've been a few times where I'm so stuck in what I'm working on that I look up and its 6PM.

Believe me, I'm with you on Big 4. I did that for awhile - and same situation - I wasn't okay with the stress of having to have 60 hour BILLABLE workweeks, plus I definitely wasn't sure I wanted my CPA license at the rate they were pushing me to get it. I just suggested Big 4 because they're almost always hiring. You could start looking at companies that are near you - check their websites for career opportunities. Accounting is one of those fields where (luckily) someone is almost always hiring.

The government job isn't a bad idea either though - you get the federal holidays off, and they have a student loan program designed to pay off your loans. I'm not sure of the conditions or how much they cover for you, but its totally worth it maybe to look into a federal job. If you don't mind tax, you could try for an audit job either with the IRS or your state government.

I understand about it being hard to let go of money when you finally have it. I'm working on paying off the rest of my credit card bills that accumulated while I worked in NYC, and having a financial advisor tell me that I need to start contributing to a 401(k) gives me a mini-panic attack - because that's money I could be using to get out of debt faster. I think its all about having a good balance. You can contribute to an IRA and pay more on the student loan debt AND also keep building an emergency fund. Even just contributing a little is better than contributing nothing I think :)