Taking a new job

I graduated from grad school this May and started my first "real" job in June. Well, the job was not what I had understood it to be during the interview process. Since my first day there, I've been stressed more than I ever was in school (and my school was no walk in the park - it's one of the top 10 in the country). I never even have time to eat lunch when I'm there, and I've come to realize that everyone in my position takes work home with them in order to get everything done. Even if I end up working more than 40 hours a week, I can't get paid over time - despite the fact that the position is hourly. Add that to the fact that the actual work I'm doing is quiet different than what was described to me, and I am not a happy camper.

As I've said before, I work in a field where I don't earn a lot of money, but I choose to do so because the work is rewarding. I wanted to have a job that I enjoyed so that I wouldn't have to dread going to work everyday. I didn't want my life to be like Office Space. Yet my job is currently making me miserable. I've had jobs in my field before - I know it doesn't have to be like this.

Well, yesterday I received a job offer from another agency for a position that is very close to being my dream job. They also offered me $3,000 more a year. Needless to say, I accepted on the spot. Now comes the little problem of informing my current employer. I'm feeling a huge amount of guilt - I'm not a job-jumper and I hate to leave after only one month. I'm afraid of burning my bridges and making the people I work with angry with me. I'll be giving them four weeks notice, so it's not like I'm going to leave them completely high and dry, but I still feel horrible.

My partner keeps telling me that I'm making the right choice - I deserve a job where I'm happy, or at least one that doesn't make me hate my life. I still can't help agonizing over it. I know I'm going to have to tell them when I go in on Monday, and I keep imagining how everyone is going to react. I'm absolutely dreading it. I feel like I'll be letting people down.

I think I'm going to give myself an ulcer...