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[Solifuge]

I'm a student, but also need to work to get by. I live pretty frugally, and save money well, so it's only been an issue on occasion. Just recently, though, everything changed for the better; I started a temporary internship at a nice cushy office. It gives me 40 hours a week, and pays nearly twice what I've gotten in the past. However, the schedule isn't very flexible, the work  is terribly dull, and isn't really related to my field at all.

Meanwhile, I recently got in touch with an old friend, who runs a Wild Bird Rehabilitation facility I used to be an intern at, and she said that they need temporary help there again for the Spring and Summer. It was flexible enough to take classes (which I want to do this Summer), was mentally engaging, was worthwhile work saving wild birds, and was related to my major (Biology). However, the pay was minimum wage, the work was dirty and stressful, and my schedule bounced between starting in the wee hours of the morning or dragging on into the evening.

The office job is nice; for the first time ever, I'm not struggling to get by, and don't have little debts piling up here and there... and yet a good part of me keeps wishing I could be putting another summer in at the Bird Center instead. I can always volunteer there, but I won't be getting the same experience I did as an Intern.

And so, my quandry: my temporary internship with the office will be up in a month or so, but I have the option of staying with them, or going elsewhere. Should I stick with what is better for my finances and long-term stability, or opt for what's better for my mental/spiritual wellbeing, and relevant to my education?

[Armok]

Go for the birds!

[Akroma]

go for the birds


you will spent most of your life working, doing the same boring things over and over again, so get some variety while you still can

[Il Palazzo]

Stay away from dull jobs. Dull jobs will destroy your mind/soul.
I should know, I've never had an interesting job in my life.

[Solifuge]

The thing I'm most worried about is whether I can fiscally afford to drop this office job, though. There are so many things I need to be saving for, like my slowly dying car, paying off old debts, and such... but at the Bird Center, I'd be living paycheck to paycheck again.

Also, the office isn't mind-numbingly dull. I'm an Environmental Intern, dabbling in safety and quality control stuff. I get to do projects on occasion... but the majority of my work is glorified Data Entry.

[Vector]

And so, my quandary: my temporary internship with the office will be up in a month or so, but I have the option of staying with them, or going elsewhere. Should I stick with what is better for my finances and long-term stability, or opt for what's better for my mental/spiritual wellbeing, and relevant to my education?

Let's think about the future.  Your finances and long-term stability are directly fueled by your mental and spiritual well-being, as well as your education.  This is a lesson I've had to learn the hard way: some things that are good for you just aren't good in the important ways--so right now money is important, but as long as you have enough that you aren't, say, starving or cold, you should probably go for what makes you happy.

This is because happy people are significantly more effective than are bored people.  In the real long-term picture, your happiness and education are the coin that will get you the resources you need, because that, right there, is the ever-vital combination of drive and experience.  Be poor for a while when you're young; it's easier and it matters a lot less, and the hope is that the time you spend being poor will make you rich in other ways.

Oh, and a hint--if the work is stressful but you want to go back despite that fact, it's the right answer.  Well, all right.  It's the right answer provided that you can deal with your stress better this time around, because stressing yourself out the ears is another one of those failure-modes it would be good to avoid.

Basically, go with the birds.  You won't actually be doing it too long, and it seems like your long-term interests are far better served that way.

The thing I'm most worried about is whether I can fiscally afford to drop this office job, though. There are so many things I need to be saving for, like my slowly dying car, paying off old debts, and such... but at the Bird Center, I'd be living paycheck to paycheck again.

Also, the office isn't mind-numbingly dull. I'm an Environmental Intern, dabbling in safety and quality control stuff. I get to do projects on occasion... but the majority of my work is glorified Data Entry.

Data Entry... ?  Go now.  You've gotten the experience you needed from this job, and it's probably not going to lead anywhere.  I mean, sure, if you're going to be put in undue financial hardship, then it's probably better to stay--but if there's anything you can cut back on to make things better, you should probably do that and go with the job that's going to make your future prospects brighter.

[Jude]

Flip a coin. If you don't like the result it gives you, pick the other one.

That's what my one psych prof would always recommend. So far I haven't had the need/opportunity to use it but I think it would work well.

Also, consider which one would look better on your CV for future grad school