So for the past two years I've been working part time at a retail job during my breaks from college. I recently graduated and came back home to figure out what my next step should be and during that time I continued to work at this retail place. Yesterday I was told there was a potential for me to move into a management position and I'm really not sure how I feel about this. There are apparently two other candidates but they want me to think about it and let them know how I feel about this in a few days. So I've been trying to work through some pros and cons to help me decide but in the end I really don't know what to do.

Pros: ❤️ Management looks great on a resume ❤️ More hours + higher pay = a lot more money

Cons: ❤️ This is not what I went to college for, spending over $160K to end up in retail for at least another half a year is a little scary ❤️ I will have a couple of shitty really early morning shifts ❤️ I have a new puppy who's still pretty young and while I have figured out a way to keep her contained but out of a crate while I'm gone for long shifts this would be a lot of long shZifts in a row

And a couple of points I'm not sure where to put: ❤️ I don't currently drive, I have a permit and have scheduled a driving class for next week with my test a month from now. Having this job and the extra money could really help me pay for a car when the time comes but until then I'll be paying a lot of money in cabs to get to and from work (of course I'm already doing that now just not as often because I don't work those full-time 40 hour work weeks) ❤️ The jobs I was looking at that would use my degree are all in the city which would in my current situation be a two hour commute in and another two hours to get back home each week (and I also worry that I haven't done enough to be qualified, maybe having this manager position on my resume would make me a better looking candidate even if it's not the same type of job)

So that's where I'm at. I would really love some advice, even just ideas of other things I should consider before committing one way or another.

Looking at your pros and cons, the "hard", non-emotional factors point towards you taking the job: Resume bonus, more money vs. puppy difficulties. The fact it's not what you want to do forever and that there are shitty morning shifts are really qualitative issues, i.e. they matter because of how they make you feel.

I think the first thing to do is to figure out how much you would hate doing the job. Would you wake up every morning feeling unhappy that you're doing something you don't want to do, worrying about your puppy, etc.? Or would it be a pain, but manageable? If the second, I would take the job and stick it out for a bit. That way if you need to take a pay-cut to do what you really want, you can save up some money now to make that an easier decision.

Then work out how much money you could save - you'll be paying more in cabs etc., so how much will this actually pay off? I'd suggest giving yourself an arbitrary number beforehand, i.e. "in six months I want to have saved X amount" and then work out whether that's possible. There's no point doing something you don't particularly like if it'll only end up earning you a little bit more money but giving you a huge headache.

It also depends on what you did at college - will you be able to use any of the hard/soft skills you've learned / will be using in your manager position in your new job? If no, there's probably not much point. How fast does your chosen field move? There are fields in which taking even two years to work in something unrelated isn't a big deal, and there are fields where 6 months make a world of difference.

If you do take the manager position, is there a way you can keep up with your field? E.g. volunteering at a related organisation, trying to write for a related publication, interning for a couple of hours a week at a business, doing an online course... that way you can "bridge the gap" between your college and eventual dream job by talking about what you did to keep up with developments.

That's all I can think of for now, hope it helps :)

Thank you for such a great response! I don't see myself hating the job but I have seen other managers in the position I would be in really hate the job and not enjoy coming to work. Not that I really enjoy coming now but I don't hate it either. It makes me money and it's not very difficult so I'm neutral and I think I could continue to be neutral in the manager position (even if I might be grumpy those early mornings).

I have an english degree with a focus on editing and the soft plan was to get into the publishing industry. So I'm not sure if the skills will really transfer at all. The best I can come up with is that it shows I have leadership qualities and can manage a team/work in a team environment. It is likely that doing the job will enable me to find more related experience that I just can't know without experiencing it.

I really like your last comment about trying to find a way to stay involved with what I actually want to do. I'm definitely going to have to think on some ways to do that.

You're very welcome. Editing sounds like you might be able to get some experience with an online publication maybe? It might be really hard work to do a full-time job and then go home and do some more work, but I've heard publishing is really hard to get into, so it might give you a leg up?

While it's never nice, a job can always be quit, or a demotion requested, but it's not every day you're offered more of a secure and better position. Please don't pass up a smart opportunity because you're banking on your degree to go somewhere quickly. The harsh possibility is your degree may do nothing for you for quite some time. Unfortunately today's degree is not what it was a few years ago, and you are wanting to go into a field that is saturated, competitive, vicious, and often a struggle. I know people who are on both sides.

I would suggest not passing this up, and also making sure while you're applying to jobs that use your degree, that you start building a solid, real life portfolio of work.

As for your pup, there are plenty of options out there for having a pup checked on while you're at work. Puppy daycare, a dog walker/sitter who comes for a belly rub and a pee midday, etc.

I would definitely go for it for the time being. I mean, it's not like you're going to be cemented in and have to do that one thing for the rest of your life, right? It'll be a good experience for you, and like you said, look good on a resume. Also it'll give you a chance to earn and save some more money for the future (ie; you mentioned getting a car, which is always good). It'll also give you a bit more prep time for you to get a job in your degree field.

And early morning shifts suck, but at least you get off earlier in the day, right?

And I second , see if you can find someone to come and give the pup a pee break, or a little walk during the day when you're not able to. Most dog walkers are pretty affordable, especially the independently-run ones.

Thank you all for your advice!

Editing is very hard to get into and often doesn't pay much so this will help me build up some savings. I know there used to be a website where you could find sitters in the area and where sitters could come in and look for jobs that were posted that seems like it might be a good option.