You are two weeks younger than I am, precisely. What are your options? If you went, where would you go to? Conferences are really important in grad school. It's very unfortunate your boss doesn't see their value. There are some problems you are likely to face anywhere - unsocial colleagues, for example. There are others, like the conferences, that you really shouldn't face in your type of job typically. In short, I wouldn't encourage you to leave a job just because your colleagues aren't very talkative or similar to you, (since you'd just trade the devil you knew for the devil you didn't in such a move) but I would encourage you to leave if you aren't being given the opportunities & respect you both deserve and should generally receive elsewhere.