Am I wrong to turn down a job because...

[ohh]

I had ano interview today after 10 years out looking after darling children. Offered the job but the hours would mean paying out for childcare am and pm. Would probably have a little cash left over. However the place was awful. Stuck in the past and the person who would be training me had past retirement so could leave any day. Health and safety issues nightmare.

A cluttered small lab. Prefer to be skint then bust a gut doing something horrible. Not desperate just clearing each month. Tesco stocking shelves appeals a lot more! Did that as a teenager. Shame because love science but love children and my sanity more!@

Are you trolling?

When you go for an interview, as well as them deciding if they like you, you are deciding whether you like the company. Hours, working conditions, colleagues etc. Prior to the interview, you couldn't have known about the state of the lab or the company's attitude to health and safety.

You could accept the job and try and make changes - maybe they have got behind with disposals or whatever, or if they don't have a good attitude to H&S, you might not pass probation.

As far as the money etc goes, could you get tax credits towards childcare? Or if you stick at the job, is there a chance of more money or lower childcare bills in the future? If you love science, you'll probably get more job satisfaction in a lab than in Tesco. I took a pay cut to move from warehouse work that I hated to a junior lab job and it's opened doors to a professional career for me within the same organisation.