new grad with a stable offer at a big defense contractor thats not the field or setup i wanted. take it or keep looking?
New CS grad. I got an offer at a big defense contractor. Decent starting pay, good job security, and i got referred in by family so theres a relationship i really dont wanna mess up.
The way im leaning is i kinda wanna turn it down and keep looking. i was always going for two things, software / web dev, and something remote or at least hybrid, and this job is neither. its entry level and not really the technical work i pictured, and its fully on site. i'll still take an on site job for the right kind of work, remote isnt a dealbreaker, its just more up my alley. this one just misses both things i actually wanted.
but heres what keeps me up. if i turn it down i could be sitting here for months with nothing, and i got zero real experience on my resume yet, so that gamble feels way scarier than it would if i had something to fall back on. so i dont wanna just say no on principle either.
and if i do take it, i feel like i gotta stay at least a year so it actually looks right on my resume and i dont make the person who referred me look bad or burn any bridges. thats a real commitment for a job i already think im gonna enjoy way less than the field i was actually hoping to focus on.
so its like, take it and lock myself into a year of something off target, or turn it down and maybe stare at no offers for months. the real fear underneath all of it is getting stuck, cause where you start kinda sets the story people read later.
for anyone whos been at a big contractor or started in a role outside the field they wanted, how hard was it to pivot after? did staying a year or two trap you or open more doors than it closed? and if youve held out as a new grad in this market, was it worth the wait or did it just drag on?
im not asking for the perfect job or anything, id just rather have one that hits at least one of the things im looking for instead of neither. open to any and all thoughts and advice people have for me.