Need advice regarding a job interview

Will you earn enough to pay rent, services and food there or have enough time to travel?

if it earns good i would go for it despite driving for 4 hours u dont want to ask yourself what if later at least thats my pov :) u get better salary experience and who knows a great work enviroment.

Sounds like an opportunity to me. If i was in your position , i would definitely go.

Give it a whirl. Worst case scenario, you will waste time trying to score a job you want to do.

Not many places are willing to hire greenies and in your case I doubt you will have another chance like this soon.

Go for it. The commute will suck for a while (until you're able to move closer), but having a career as opposed to a job is worth it.

Go to the interview, don't let this chance pass. Everything might turn out just right, you will never know if you don't go to the interview.

You do the interview!

a) It's experience at interviewing!
b) It gets your name out there. What if they know someone who's looking for someone in your local area. Not all jobs are posted... sometimes it's knowing people.
c) Find out what they offer and then make a decision. Maybe they know how to get you settled closer or can work with you.
d) Be flexible. You're young. How bad do you want it? Like where you live now but the positions aren't available to someone without experience? Make the sacrifice so that next time an opening comes up where you want to live, you'll have the experience.

Always go for an interview, even if you're not going to take the job later on.
MidWestDrifter has a good explanation about this :p

Do the interview. You have nothing to lose and you'll get some experience at it. You might get the job, you might not, but if you just ignore it, the "what ifs" will make your current position even worse. Worry about the rest of it if they offer you the job, but go for the interview.

And another thing, if you get the job, all the questions/doubts you have right now will feel twice as huge and twice as excruciating, twisting away at you while you try to make the final decision. From experience, don't let yourself get sidelined by problems that aren't the position itself. Most of them are solveable, even if they seem insurmountable. That's the anxiety gnawing. Sleep on them. Talk to someone impartial that you trust. Make sure that you're turning down the job because you don't want it or it simply isn't viable from a completely objective perspective (example: salary offered wouldn't compensate for the commuting costs), not because you're worried about driving through a big city or commuting, or throwing yourself into an unknown situation. Accepting the job will probably feel like hell at first, but if your present position makes you miserable, it might be worth it.

Whatever you decide later, do the interview. Even if you get the job offer and turn it down, just the fact that you had landed the job will boost your mood, your confidence. The worst that can happen is that you get turned down at the interview. So what? You'd have tried to get away from a job you acutely dislike, to something better. That's good in my book.

sees the text wall Ouch. Sorry, didn't mean to ramble. random internet person shuts up, hides back into lurk-mode

I once moved because a 25 minute commute (of which 10 minutes was in heavy traffic) was too much for me. I can't even imagine what a 2 hour commute is like. Still, if I was in the same situation as you, I would take it and worry about this later.

So what if it's through a bit city at rush hour? Doesn't this city have train or metro stations? You can use them and get fast wherever you want. o.O I seriously can't understand what's the problem here. :/

2h to work and 2h back? You would literally lose your life like that =(. If it's really that hard to find a job at your area, then yes, take it. But I suggest you move asap if you like the job.

Worst case scenario = it doesn't work out cos of the commute
Nothing lost
In fact quite the opposite cos you get some experience and it shows people just how far you will go to get that.

Worth it just to get some interview experience.
Practicing is one thing, doing the interview is whole new game.
If local areas aren't hiring, this is a chance you probably shouldn't ignore.

The downside is, you're probably going to hate being stuck in a car for two four (!!!) hours of your life every day.
Commute actually makes a huge difference.

If money is not an issue, another potential option to explore would be to do an internship or volunteer where you can shadow other people.
People love cheap labor, plus you get some experience to slap on your resume.

Do the interview, else you'll always be left with a feeling of regret. After the interview, you've got a better view of what to expect and be, hopefully, less anxious.

Also, about the driving: What about taking public transport? Or like drive half, take public transport the other half? In the Netherlands there are quite some people that take the car to a metro station at the edge of the city and then take the metro to whereever they need to go, seeing it's often faster than trying to bother the traffic in the rush hours.

An average person can take this amount of daily commute by car for a few months usually; more if they are single, no kids. The initial weeks will be a killer since you'll realise you don't have time for anything but travel, work, sleep on weekdays, killing most social life quickly, but eventually you can get into a rhythm, and and if you can save up enough to move closer and preferably into a place that is not a dump in the middle of a slum, then after that you get more and more used to it.

I drive 1.5 hours to work and work 12 hour days. Long commutes suck. Not having a job you prefer sucks more. Go for it.

Honestly? I see a lot of responses that you shouldn't let this opportunity pass - I agree with that part, go, see if they are willing to hire you (it may all end up on job interview after all) and then decide. If you know that you have money to move closer after a time and you're willing to do that - that's fine. I know for a fact, that I wouldn't want to waste 4 hours per day on just driving from one place to another. It's a main reason that I still live in my big-yet-not-very-big-city, where everything is close. I'm on internship right now and that's my "main" job, but besides that I'm a writer and do few other valuable things with my free time, so... 4 hours travel per day? Waste of time for me.

But if this is job of your dream... Maybe it's worth it ;)

As some other people have said, 4 hours of travel is just too much. 4 hours of travel + work hours... no, just no. Apparently you don't need the job THAT much. But I don't know... maybe you do. I know that I would never do such a thing. Time is the most valuable of resources, still it is so undervalued and consequently wasted... Life should be enjoyed at all times, not only on weekends. I hear people say all the time "I hope tomorrow pass by really fast so I can come home" or "I hope today ends soon because tomorrow is friday!", and that just breaks my heart. I think that even if you don't like something, you should enjoy your time with it, because it's not gonna be forever. But that doesn't mean becoming accommodated with the way things are.

You should definitely show up to the interview. Even if you latter decide you don't want the position, it will still be some experience for how these things are supposed to work and will maybe put you at ease in following interviews.

Havings said that, should you take the job were you offered it? I don't know. Me, myself, can't see me doing a 4 hour commute + a 8 hour shift 5 days a week. Consider that would leave you no spare time whatsoever, if we assume 7 h sleep and taking care of all the chores, eating etc.

The thing is tho, I do not know you personal economic situation, you have no way whatsoever of moving closer? Even if it implies sharing flats or something, it's true that without personal data is difficult to give good advice, but on the other hand I wouldn't hand it freely to net strangers.

It can be the opportunity you are looking for to kickstart you career, but it might also be very taxing and demanding. How do you feel about this particular position?

I don't know, it's hard. I would say you definitely go for the interview, and then, depending on the vibe you get and how you feel about the company you can decide. I've always been the kind of person to prefer regret doing something because it didn't turn out as it expected thant regret not having done it and keep myself wondering what could've been. So well.

Like many have said, you should take the interview for the experience, but IMO 4 hours of a commute isn't sustainable. That said, would you be able to afford a place closer to work if you had roommates? Or rented a room in somebody's basement? Just wanted to be sure you're not only considering, say, one-bedroom apartments in the city. Also, you say, "right through a big city at rush hour." I'm not sure if the office is downtown or on the other side of the city, but especially if the latter, there may be alternate routes that you're not aware of. Or as some have said, consider a subway system if that's an option...at least you can relax/read/sleep/play tablet games while you travel.
But going to the interview might provide some clarity one way or another...there's no downside to going.

Thanks to everyone who responded, I don't really have the motivation to reply to you all individually (not bummed out anymore, just have a killer migraine), so lemme just say that you all make very good points. And you're all right, going to the interview has more pros than cons. So as of such, I will be going to that. As for whether I'll take the job if it's offered to me or not, well I have until tomorrow to think on that one. ^^

Thank you, heres a gratitude giveaway. I dunno if you guys will actually come back to this thread and see/enter this one, but still. Its there.

Good luck and if you decide to commute, stock up on audio-books and podcasts. :)

It might suck for a little while, but in the long term it will help you. Make the sacrifice and get the experience so when jobs in your area are hiring you have the experience. It is worth it. Even if you only do it for a year, a year from now you'll be able to tell your next employer you have been working in the industry. That will well worth it. The hardest part of making a career in any industry is getting your foot in the door. Don't pass on an opportunity.