DR. WALLACE: I'm a guy who is enjoying the summer after completing my junior year in high school. There's a certain company in our community I've really wanted to work with for several years, and after submitting my application near the end of the school year, I was called to an interview.

I feel I did really well during the interview, so I was not overly surprised when I was offered a very decent part-time job not only for this summer, but one that can continue into my senior year in high school. I'll have just a few morning classes since I worked ahead in school the past few years.

I cleared all of this with my parents in advance, and they are behind me all the way. I've now worked a few weeks at the new job, and although the company is great and I'm learning a lot, my "entry-level" job is really terrible and boring compared to the jobs even one or two levels above where I am. I mentioned this to my father, and he simply said, "You're in a war of attrition, hang in there." I then asked him what he meant by this and he told me that I would find out soon enough if I could persevere.

What do you think my father is implying, and do you think it's worth staying in a job at a very low level when the tasks are very easy and routine? I truly crave more responsibility in a more challenging work environment. — New to the Workforce, via email

NEW TO THE WORKFORCE: Your father is likely referring to the fact that he feels other employees ahead of you will eventually quit or move on for various reasons, and as this "attrition" gradually occurs, there will be openings available at some point in the jobs above your level.

I do feel it is absolutely worth doing your best by hanging in there at an entry-level job, especially when you feel the overall company is excellent and one you would truly like to work with for a period of time. Get your routine jobs done quickly in an organized way and on time, and then look around and absorb everything else you can, especially at the job levels just above you. Ask polite but good questions of your coworkers and let them know if they get overloaded that you'd be happy to lend them a hand, as you may have pockets of free time occasionally due to your current job involving solely entry-level tasks at the present time.

I DECLINED TO GO FISHING AND HE ERUPTED AT ME

DR. WALLACE: My boyfriend set up a late afternoon fishing trip next Saturday with his friends at a lake a half hour from our hometown.

This lake is in a total swampy area, and it's about a quarter of a mile walk through a really dense thicket along a narrow dirt road before you can even get to the lake to try to fish. I know this because my father and brother tried to take our family there once years ago and it was a total disaster for my mom and me.

Apparently, he invited four of his close guy friends, and I've only met one of them. He told me two of the guys are bringing their girlfriends, so he wanted me to go along so I could meet everybody and all of us girls could talk together. But the one friend of his I do know does not have a girlfriend, so these girls and their boyfriends are total strangers to me at this point.

I am a 19-year-old college student and he's 20. When I told him that I didn't want to attend this evening out, especially because I'm extremely sensitive to mosquito bites, he got into a huge argument with me. At first, I thought he was just kidding, but he went on and on about how he had spent a lot of time getting it all organized and making sure everybody could attend that evening. He told me I would be "letting him down" if I did not show up.

My mind is made up about that evening, and I'm not going to attend. Now I'm wondering about how solid our relationship is overall, given this huge argument over what should be a small issue in my mind. After all, it's just one evening and I told him I'd be happy to go anywhere else to meet them all another time, where I didn't have to face a throng of mosquitoes in the late afternoon into evening. They planned to fish until dark and then start a campfire. But instead of just accepting my answer, he continued screaming and yelling, and even slammed some doors and now we haven't spoken in two days. Do you agree with me that my opting out of attending this event is no big deal, or is this truly a bigger deal in some way than I presently realize? — His Reaction Stunned Me, via email

HIS REACTION STUNNED ME: I didn't experience what you experienced, but just hearing about it secondhand via your letter, stunned me as well. In my view, you had a valid reason for not attending this particular event at that specific location. You also offered to meet the very same people at any other time in a more suitable venue for you personally in the near future.

Your decision and your offer were both eminently reasonable, and for him to go on such a tirade, which included slamming doors and screaming, and now giving you the silent treatment, may be an early indicator, providing you insight into what a future long-term future with this guy might look like.

I do realize this is only one instance, and there may still be time for the two of you to patch it up together, especially if he steps forward with a sincere apology and calms down. However, you've gained valuable insight into your relationship that you should definitely spend some serious time thinking about carefully.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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