When the time comes for you to choose to leave your job and start your career, the money in your dead-end college job isn’t worth it.

Right now, chances are you have a low-paying, steady part-time job. Most college students work on average 20 to 30 hours a week. You’re hoping your degree will pan out for you. You know the stories of graduates not being able to get a job right out of college, but this is your investment. You’ve taken it believing you’ll make it.

If you’ve been working a job throughout your college career, you’ve probably had a few raises. Starting at an entry level again in a new career doesn’t sound appealing, but this will be the career you’ve been training for. Everything you’ve learned in your courses has been leading to your new job. Now, you’re facing an entry level job that wouldn’t support your first few months on your own.

Staying in your college job will drive you to hate it. You won’t hate it because the work you’re doing is a chore, and it is a chore. No, you’ll hate it because you’ll start to resent your decision. Your investment in college wasn’t made so you could stay at your service industry, fast food job or to tag along at your family’s business. If you wanted to do that forever you didn’t need college. You’re going to hate your choice because you found your passion in college. You spent four years studying and testing and praying you passed so that you could start a career. You want a life where you’re in control of your choices.

Don’t settle for the money. Starting at a new career will bring an entry level rate, but what’s more, it will bring opportunities to spread your wings. So what if you have to delay your plans of leaving your parents house for a while? You must start somewhere, and you can’t start if you don’t leave your old job.

You can set yourself up for a career before you’ve been handed your diploma. Finding an internship that suits you in your senior year can raise your chances of turning that internship into a paid position. Although, that won’t guarantee you a higher starting rate.

Don’t let the urge to stay in your comfort zone and fear of a smaller salary discourage you from making the choice you know you must. Choose your career.

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