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I am currently working as a reporter for a small daily newspaper. I love my work but struggle making ends meet. I have also struggled with the isolation that comes with living in a rural area.

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I recently accepted a more lucrative editor position at a magazine, which is also closer to my family and my home. I am second-guessing my decision because I love what I do and the people that I work with. My family thinks that I would be crazy to turn down the new job. What do you think?

Wait a Minute

Your second thoughts so soon after accepting the offer make me think your instinct is telling you not to take this job. If there is a high likelihood you will find yourself miscast and will be looking to leave this new job soon after you get there, it would be awkward but probably best to tell the magazine you've gotten cold feet.

Joe Grimm

The people at the magazine might not be happy with you. But it is better to do this now than to do it three months after you arrive. Right now, they are just putting a candidate search to bed and might still go to their runner-up -- or keep the search going. If you wait until you've been on the job a few months and find that, as you suspect, it is not good for you, no one will be happy.

Keep aiming to get back to your family, but don't let them weigh too heavily on your career decisions -- unless they are journalists, too.

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Coming Tuesday: This 11-year reporting veteran would like to begin doing some travel writing, starting with an upcoming trip, but wonders how to start.

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