Job Conundrum

[lisalisalisa]

Hi everyone, I am in a pickle here! Let me give you a bit of background... I just graduated with my BS last month and have been applying for master degree programs for this fall. I have also been applying for jobs in the meantime to try to earn some income. All of the programs that I applied to are not in the area that I currently reside, which means that I would have to move. Which is fine with me, since that is what I want. However, my issue is, if I'm offered, say a full-time job (which I just interviewed for, and there is a high possibility of me receiving such a job), I'm not sure if I should take it. I should start hearing back from programs next month, which is when the potential job training would take place. I also have to account for potential school interviews, as well as leaving my potential job in only 5 months... If I'm offered a job, should I even take it? Or, am I risking too much with my potential admittance into a grad program? 

 

Sincerely, 

 

Caught between a rock and a hard place

[ZeChocMoose]

Right now, you have two hypotheticals that haven't come true yet and there are so many ways that this could play out so it is hard to predict what is going to happen with the information that you currently have.  You may (a) get a job offer and get a grad school acceptance, (b) only get a job offer, (c) only get a grad school acceptance, or (d) get neither in the next couple of months.  Personally, I would keep on applying for jobs and putting in grad applications and see how this plays out.

In my experience, some fields take a long time to hire so you could know about your grad school acceptances before you get any job offers.  You may also get grad school acceptances, but decide not to attend because you didn't like the program when you visited or the financially aid package was weak.

To answer your question - usually in entry-level, office type jobs (assuming that is the type you are applying to) they assume you are going to stay for at least a year because the time it takes to train and get a person up to speed takes a while.  Usually, a good rule of thumb is it takes a person about a year to really understand their job for entry-level positions and longer if your job is more complicated and has more responsibility/autonomy. I personally wouldn't take a full-time permanent entry-level job if I knew before hand that I had to leave in 5 months.  If I wasn't sure about my grad school decision yet -- you just have to make the best decision with the info that you have and be prepared to deal with the fall out if your work does take it badly.

What you could do instead if you do know that you'll be headed off to grad school in a couple months is to apply to temp jobs.  There is no assumption that you are going to stay for long term and it allows you to make decent money.  I did this for 4 months after I graduated from my bachelor's and before my full-time position was available in October.  I worked as a research assistant in a hospital and it worked out really great as the PI was only looking for a short-term person.  You could also apply to either retail or food service positions as there are much more turn over in those fields, there is not generally the assumption that entry-level people stay very long term, and it will allow you to make some money.

Please note that all this advice is under the assumption that you don't need the money from the job to survive.  If you do need the money to put a roof over your head and to eat since you are not being financially supported by family/partner/friends, my advice would be to take the job as basic survival is more important than professional concerns about leaving a job too early.

Edited January 22, 2016 by ZeChocMoose

[lisalisalisa]

Thank you, ZeChocMoose for your advice! It really puts things into perspective for me. Which is exactly what I needed since I felt that I was honestly wondering around aimlessly, lol. Thanks again and good luck to you! 

[Need Coffee in an IV]

Not sure if you are still looking for advice but I hope I help! My boyfriend is a similar situation as you. He went to grad school but realized it wasn't for him. He's back now and we are deciding whether he should try to find a full time job here or come with me since I hope to go to grad school. We really like this area and hope to eventually live here after grad school. So getting a job and buying a house here would make sense. But we were long distance when he was in grad school and it sucked. We would be long distance again for 2 years. But he also has money saved up so we are good financially. I would say if you need/want a job maybe try to find part time work or at a place that wouldn't miss you when you leave (pet smart, target, etc) I wouldn't accept a full time job in an office if you plan to leave soon. So he decided that he will most likely come with me and try to find a job in our new city/state.