I had a few thoughts reading about your dilemma.

The first thing that came to mind was the fact that you sound less than enthusiastic about even applying for the position.

Look at the how you presented the problem: "My mom and my friends want..." and "Jobs that they want...". The most important thing to ask yourself is "what do I want?".

Secondly, you mention that this is only a one year position. Financially though it is in fact, dollar wise, as if you worked 2 years because it pays twice as much. Smart investment and careful planning will give you a second full year to find another position.

It is also important to remember the impact practical experience might have on you and your future. The people you meet during this one year tenure may result in long term employment opportunity in your designated field.

If the worse case scenario occurs and you are unable to find a similar job after this one runs out, is it possible your current job would consider re-hiring you?

Going through the interview process is always helpful. But, I would only do so if I would accept the position if hired.

I would sit down and outline a much more elaborate plan outlining the pros and cons of both accepting or declining this opportunity.

You've gotta do what you want to do, not what your mom or friends want you to do. I've been working the same job now for about 10 years in retail, that was only temporary at the time, which led to full-time (not a manager/supervisor though). I graduated with a degree in Broadcasting with the dream of working in radio or tv, I even have on hand experience, since we had a 50,000 watt radio station and daily evening newscast that I worked on. Do I regret not doing it? Not a bit. I have fun at my job and love the people I work with and I meet new people on daily basis, even though I would like to strangle a few customers.

So, it's up to you what you do, but remember do it for you and only you.

I think you already know the answer.

However, if making more money is what you really need, and / or you want benefits, I would suggest preparing yourself for a careful job search. You can probably get some free or cheap career development. A good place to start would be sucessful (by whatever criteria you call success) Alumni of the schools where you got your MS and MA.

You should:
- think about your goals and write them down
- prepare a professional resume
- register with legitimate job search firm - local or internet

The motivation, drive and preparation must come from within for the best chance of being happy with any change you might make.

The main question you have to answer is what do YOU want to do? If library science is the field you want to get into, then even if the job is only funded for 1 year, you should seriously consider taking it. Often times the funding for another year comes along before you get terminated or a different full time job comes open that is not dependent on grant funding. Experience in your chosen field is very helpful when applying for a job in the future as well. My brother worked on several grant funded jobs before finally getting a permanent position with the Corps of Engineers. He made a lot of contacts with others in his chosen field, and that ultimately helped when the Corps job came open.

The bottom line is only you can determine what is right for you and if you want to stay where you are, that's fine too. Best of luck in what ever you choose to do!

Thank you everyone for your kind words and advice.  You've confirmed what I really already knew in my heart, which isn't exactly what I want to do, but rather what I should do.  I'm sure you know the difference.

I decided to go ahead and apply.  It really is what I need to do, the real problem is that I really like where I work now and have no desire to leave.  But the pay will not enable anything that needs to happen - my mom should have the option to retire in the next few years (she is 63) but it would be very, very difficult to manage on my salary alone.  I do need some kind of health coverage, and I will never see that at this job.  And I will never get a bigger house (I need a 3rd bedroom to house my DVDs!)

What I think I will try to do if I get a position is to cut back my hours severely at my current job and stay on for a couple days a week.  Then if there is not a position available later I can increase my hours. 

As for why I did what I did, educationally, here is the answer.  I got both my BAs in fields I enjoyed studying.  I wanted a BA in Anthropology (Archaeology track) but had issues with one class that was always taught by the same professor, so I got a BA in Humanities and a BA in Women's Studies.  What I wanted to do was Historic Archaeology, but that didn't work out.

I then got an MA in Humanities, because I already had the BA and the program was there to get into and I enjoyed studying literature.  I couldn't find anything to do with an MA in Humanities except go into a PhD program, and I do not have the funds to move so I would have had to get the PhD at the same university I got my BA & 1st MA from, and I'm told that's not good.  I have no real desire for a "career" - I just want a decent paying job.  You know the old joke "I thought I wanted a career, turns out I just wanted a paycheck."  A friend of mine suggested Library and Information Science as an educational path that would put something on my resume besides an extensive liberal arts education (my first two degrees are completely academic - to quote Avenue Q, "what do you do with a BA in English?" can just as easily be said about a BA in Humanities).  I figured it was a job I could do, the university that offered the program was only a 2 hour drive, and might even enjoy if I could get into the right end of it (I would be a very good cataloging librarian).

However, if I'd known then what I know now, in 1995 when I first started my BA I would have asked my friend Mark to take me on as his apprentice and teach me how to fix cars.  I'd probably have a decent paying job now and a lot less debt.