You are on a FIRE dedicated forum talking about taking 6 months off while you have no future job with good prospects. Some of the greatest difficulties in life are during times when income < expense. And travelling without a job = $0 income, =/= $0 expense.
Whether that job is above or below you is determined by you. One person may think it's a great opportunity, another may not. Only what you think matters. I have learned over and over that life gives you exactly what you ask of it. If want something bad enough and you put in the work, somehow magically you get it. The key part being that you don't quit or give up until you achieve what it is that you want.
So if you want a job in MIS, just keep pounding the pavement, phone, internet, email, snail mail, talk to people, talk to strangers, etc. until you get yourself a job in the MIS field doing what you want to making what you want.
Or just take the better paying job now. But know that you will have to put effort into that as well to get good result out of it (you already seem to know this). Opportunity cost... that's why it's hard to make decisions with imperfect information.
Background:
Bachelors in MIS coming up in a month (Graduating)
Retail Assistant Manager at local Cell Phone Shop (~$13 hour with commission - can probably make closer to $15-16 since boss will likely work with me)
I live in a rural area about 30 minutes from a small college town
So I have the opportunity to switch "jobs" for a Alarm and Fire Security Technician. They want to start me out at $13. They want to start me out in the field doing "grunt" work such as running cable and lines and such. I have the potential to make much more - say $20-25 after I get a year under my belt. I will be moving from running wires to going on job sites after everything is ran and hooking up equipment and setting it up and doing service calls. There is probably room of more growth within the company through programming their control systems. Downside is I have a tore ACL and no insurance and initially the job would probably be very strenuous on my knee. I can function just fine but occasionally there is always that chance it will come out. They are willing to pay for my insurance after 90 days but still... I'd be rushing a surgery... It's a relatively minor surgery, but still.
My dilemma is that I'm graduating online through a regional university and I've been at my retail job for ~4 years. I don't know whether I should take the better job now or wait till something comes up more along in my field. The problem is I would probably have to move to find something better that is more related to my field.
The Tech job I could take also does not require any type of formal education obviously other than maybe an Associates degree. I don't know if I'm selling myself short by taking this job that I feel like I would have to commit to hardcore to get decent results out of.
My original plan was quit the retail job since I am financially able to and take 6 months off and enjoy the world a bit and then look for something closer related to my field. Then this job came up, so I am not sure.
Thoughts?