Would you take a job out of your field if it afforded you other opportunities (see my situation inside)?

Well, I don’t see anything wrong with taking the job outside your field especially since it comes with education benefits that you could use.

Isn’t there something about your ex-girlfriend living in Pittsburgh, though? Is it a good idea to move to her city?

I think the education benefits with the new job are well worth the lesser pay and the hassle of moving. I’d jump at a chance like that.

I think it really depends on your long term goals. Giving up a job in your field for a different job with hopes of going back into your field could be looked down upon by someone reading your resume in the future. If you had no options in your field and you just wanted to work, that could easily be explained. If you were interested in changing career fields, this could be a good transitioning point.

I personally wouldn’t give up a nursing job (since I’m a nurse) to become a telemarketer of sorts and then hope to get back into a nursing job after leaving my field of expertise (so to speak) for an extended amount of time because nursing is a specialized field and you have to stay up to date with what’s going on in the medical world.

Unless you plan to do something to continue your eduation in your career field and stay up to date with what’s going on in that career field while you take this other job, it could make a possible future employer question how you are going to adjust coming back into your original career field after being out of it for an extended period of time (especially such a drastic difference in the jobs since it doesn’t sound like you would be doing anything even remotely related to your career field).

I agree with @marinelife , although the big question is if you are intending on returning to chemistry in the future, or if you are only using your undergrad degree as a stepping stone to a different career as you mention. but a job in an unrelated field is not in and of itself bad. Go for it if it makes you happy!

I’m not so sure how well a degree from an online school would serve you, as most of them don’t have a very sterling reputation. I’d check into the reputation of the school before I’d consider that a benefit or consider working for them.

Sure you should take it….expand your horizons

If you think getting an online education is something that would help you, go for it – otherwise, I’d get a new job but in my field if I just wanted to move to a new place.

Is this a for-profit online school, or is it affiliated with a traditional university? There are things that could make this job difficult in unusual ways.

I would do it only if I couldn’t take school online easily.

@marinelife Yes my fairly recent x g/f lives in Pittsburgh. I am doing my best (with admittedly mixed results) to not factor her into the decision at all.

@Seaofclouds Long term I just want to have a successful career. I am holding out the dream of becoming a forensic scientist, but I apparently need further experience and possibly education to achieve that goal. I would be content being in a scientific field, so long as its an interesting one. Other jobs could entertain me enough, but I don’t know them until I’ve tried them. How do you like nursing? My step mother (a nurse) and some friends are suggesting I go back and get a nursing degree, and I’m tossing around the idea. As far as my career field changing, I honestly don’t have to worry about it. Technology will not change that drastically in chemistry in the next 20 years. In fact most of the machines I use today are at least 10 years old (one is as old as I am), and the technology in the new ones isn’t any more advanced, just more refined.

@zenvelo Science has always been my primary interest (that and medicine to some degree). I dunno if I want to return to something like what I’m doing now, but working in a lab somewhere wouldn’t be bad, so long as it was more interesting.

@diavolobella I’ve heard that pending the degree they are actually somewhat respected. There’s nothing special about a masters of business or criminal justice that would require you to be in person at a school to attain it. In fact many classes were offered at my 4 year university, Ohio State, with online alternatives. Also, they have some in person schools, such as the nursing ones.. which could never be online.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Would it help me? Yes. Do I need it… probably not. If I want to expand into another field it would definitely be beneficial. I am still entertaining positions in my field, but they are not panning out thus far.

@tedd I personally love being a nurse, but it’s not for everyone. If you are thinking about it, but are uncertain, perhaps try to find a hospital or doctor’s office that will allow you to shadow a nurse for a few hours to get an idea of what they deal with (preferably both if you can because it’s very different from one to the other).

@Seaofclouds When I originally got to college I was trying to become a surgeon, so I am “somewhat” familiar with what many healthcare professionals go through (having researched the surgeon thing at length). I have several friends who are nurses at hospitals, and my step mother is a nurse at a private practice, so I’ll have to quiz them a bit.

@tedd Good luck!

I have run into a number of young men who are, or are studying to become nurse practitioners.