Twice a week we publish problems that will feature in a forthcoming Dear Jeremy advice column in the Saturday Guardian so that readers can offer their own advice and suggestions. We then print the best of your comments alongside Jeremy’s own insights. Here is the latest dilemma – what are your thoughts?
I am in my early 30s, working full time and making just above minimum wage in the hospitality industry. I think I am articulate and professional. My family feels I am squandering my talents and my intellect in a “dead-end job”. I explain that I am thankful just to have a job in this economy, especially considering most of my friends have university degrees and get part-time hours at their fast-food jobs.
While I do sometimes wish I had gone on to post-secondary education, I am pleased not to be in debt like my friends.
The quandary comes when customers at work tell me I am wasting my time at this job. It makes me feel uncomfortable and I never know how to respond. They often tell me I am too keenly intellective, or “too charismatic” to be here, and often offer me suggestions of what types of jobs I should be doing instead. On more than one occasion a customer has actually tried to hire me.
How should I go about replying to these people without offending them, or seeming ungrateful?
Do you need advice on a work issue? For Jeremy’s and readers’ help, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@theguardian.com. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or to reply personally.
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