<prompt> Human: Im not sure if this is the right sub, so please redirect me if this post is irrelevant. I just subscribed yesterday because the real world is scary...So my back story is that I just graduated college with a bachelors in chemistry with 2 years of experience in academic research. However, I absolutely hate doing research and am trying to change career paths to environmental consulting. Several employers have told me that my resume doesnt match the jobs that I am applying for and I have been passed over multiple times because of my irrelevant experience.Fast forward to this past month, I got two contract employment offers. Neither are ideal, but its the best Ive got. The first is in an analytical chemistry lab testing Covergirl products. Its near my house and they offered to pay me 18hr for 40 hour weeks. The contract doesnt offer a full time job, but renews yearly. I am free to apply for permanent jobs within the company while I am working under this contract. The second is an entry level environmental specialist job at a nationwide environmental consulting firm. It requires a lot of travel, the office is located an hour away from my house, and they require me to work for 50 hoursweek. The commute adds up to 60 hour work weeks while they only pay me for the 50. They also only offered me 15.50hr for the first 6 months and will give me a full time job and a 1-2 raise if I make it that far. Additionally, they will give me a raise with each additional job-related certification I receive. Basically, its hard to tell what my salary could be after the first 6 months. Should I take the environmental specialist job that requires 12 hour work days but will give me much needed experience or should I take the analytical chem job that pays significantly more per hour and is close to home?  <response>: Id take the environmental specialist job. You need the experience, youll make slightly more money overall because of working more, and you already know you wont enjoy the other job. 