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Dear Denise: Graduation woes, employment opportunities

Dear Denise 12

Jose Gonzalez-Campelo/The Cougar

In The Cougar’s bi-weekly anonymous advice column, I discuss staying in school and managing employment priorities. To submit your questions for future issues, click the Dear Denise button on our home page.

Dear Denise, graduation is coming up so fast, and I’m not yet ready to be an adult with a boring job yet. Should I double major so I can stay in school longer? 

Honestly, that’s what I did, and I do not regret it at all. Thanks to all my credit hours from taking dual credit in high school, I could have graduated a semester early, but it felt too sudden. I didn’t feel like I had a real college experience because of COVID-19, and I didn’t feel like I had any job prospects. I added my second minor, management and leadership, and even though it’s not that interesting, it allowed me to stay here. I feel so at peace with my decision to extend my time because now I know that I was not ready at all in the past. If you have the funds, you should do it! It’s totally worth it.     

I’ve been at a job for almost two years, and I’m starting to hate it. I want to go somewhere else, but I’d feel bad about leaving because one of my bosses is about to go on maternity leave, so it will leave a void. What should I do? 

Leave that job immediately. I think it’s difficult once we become emotionally invested in our jobs, but we are so replaceable, and we have to leave when we want to, or we will stay forever.   

I like my current job. I like the people, like the managers. I can show up late whenever, and they really don’t care what I do because it’s just a cool job. But the money’s not there. I have a better job opportunity with better pay but a more strict work situation. This job has almost double my current income, but I’d have to stick with it for a few months to get there. What do I do?

This is tricky. It may seem like the obvious choice to follow the money, but if the work situation doesn’t suit you, I would hate for you to choose the new position and then dislike the strictness and get laid off with no backup. If your current job is part time, maybe work a few hours a week just to keep yourself on the schedule in case of an emergency. You should try out the new position, though. You may be surprised at your capabilities.  

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