ArcaMax

First you have to genuinely not give the tiniest hoot about what people (whom you don't respect anyway) think of you. You also have to be willing to say "bye-bye" to any money that is dangling over your head.

If you can manage this, you will be the envy of your family, as they continue to walk on eggshells in exchange for the chance to play the family lottery.

Dear Amy: I am into the second year at my first job out of college. I am the marketing director for a small company in the Midwest. I enjoy my job to a certain degree.

My dad works for a Fortune 500 company that sells medical equipment. He is pressuring me to join his company at an entry-level position. Granted, the offer is very appealing and something I would like to do. I enjoy the field.

Overall I will feel bad about leaving the company I'm at now, but my dad says it is normal in business for people to leave at any moment.

The position he is telling me to join is an offer that people don't see every day, especially at my age (23).

I am afraid I will look back in five years and say, "Dang, I wish I had taken that job offer."

What do you think I should do?

-- Job Confused

Dear Confused: You have already stayed at your first post-college job for a respectable length of time; it's OK to look for a different job.

However, I disagree with your father that it is "normal" for people to leave their jobs at any moment. The appropriate thing to do is to stay at your current job while you interview for your hoped-for job at this larger company, and then to give your current boss a respectable notice (two weeks is the norm) before you leave.

You would be smart to put your father on "mute" for a minute, while you do your independent due diligence on the other company, investigating with an open mind the reality of working there. Also, take a moment to ponder the reality of working in the same company as your father. He seems a tad overwhelming. Do not leave this job until you have a new one locked down.

Dear Amy: Thank you, thank you, thank you, for recommending Head Start to the "Old-Fashioned Grandma in OR," whose granddaughter was yelling and swearing at her toddler son. I am a Head Start teacher and part of what we do is to help children (and their parents) navigate different ways to behave.

-- Teacher

Dear Teacher: I described Head Start as "a miracle," for good reason. Thank you and your fellow teachers.

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(You can contact Amy Dickinson via email: askamy@amydickinson.com. Readers may send postal mail to Amy Dickinson, c/o Tribune Content Agency, LLC., 16650 Westgrove Dr., Suite 175, Addison, TX 75001. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or "like" her on Facebook.)