Avoiding a Criminal Record After Getting Caught Stealing

My question involves criminal records for the state of: New Jersey
Yesterday I was detained at a macy's for attempting to steal an item that cost nearly 245$, after filling out paperwork and paying the 150$ fine, the police were called in to take me to the Wayne police department. There I went through the whole process of fingerprints, mug shot etc.) I received my court date and they allowed me to leave. Here are My questions, since this is my first offense and i have a clean criminal record, should i plead guilty or not guilty to the 4th degree crime? Is there a chance of a dismissal ? and i understand the severity of my actions but how severely would this hinder job opportunity chance? I'm also a freshman in college and working part time since i am on break currently.

its going to hinder your job opportunities big time, nobody is going to want to hire a person with sticky fingers, I would hire a lawyer

To answer another of your questions: Never plead guilty to a crime without being fully aware of the consequences. I would plead not guilty and see if you qualify for a public defender.

Free9Man gives good advice. NEVER plead other than not guilty unless you have legal counsel as to the implications of doing so.
A fourth degree crime is nothing to sneeze at. It's the NJ equivalent of a felony. It will have severe and life long implications to you if convicted.
Your chances of just getting it outright "dismissed" by yourself are non-existant.

It's possible you can get the fourth degree downgraded to a disorderly persons offense which still is serious but way less so than what you are charged with.
The best outcome is to get into a pretrial intervention that will give you some probation in exchange for the ultimate dismissal if you behave.

You need to get to a lawyer ASAP.

Wayne courts do not take theft likely. In fact if you do a google search of Wayne shoplifting, you may see a news report where the Wayne PD put a GPS tracker on a thief and tracked him around the state of NJ. He only hit a Wayne retail establishment once. They did this with full support of the courts. The Macy's Security at the Willowbrook mall are very aggressive and routinely deal with the PD and courts.

Get an attorney. You may luck out. NJ does offer deferred sentencing for first time offenders, however you will need an attorney. Check out diversion of criminal charges.

A chance of dismissal? Why would they dismiss that?

As others have said, they might be willing to give you some sort of diversion.

Your chances of "BEATING" this are non-existent.