Anyone who knows me will tell you I've always been a hard worker. From the time I turned 14, I started flipping burgers at Maccas...then worked three jobs through highschool, studied and worked 3 jobs after...then had a couple of longer term roles between travelling.

My current job is good, I have a lot of fantastic clients...but really got me down. I was working 6-7 days a week (sometimes of shifts of up to 15 hours....once I did a 23 hour shift) and get paid barely minimum wage. Its a toxic environment, with my immediate boss and co-workers making me just hate being there. Its rather witchy, and people LOVE to play the blame game.

So...I quit. I applied to study my preferred insdustry - Sport & Recreation.

I sent off a quick email to one of my current clients, explaining that I was finishing up soon, I've loved workin with with etc. They are a major sporting team in Australia. I mentioned if any roles become available, please let me know as I'm looking for a foot in the door.

Fast forward 24 hours. The GM calls me, and offers me an internship for a role they have made specifically with me in mind. Its perfect.

So....along with studying 2 days a week (which will take a minimum of 1.5 hours travelling time each way to get to), interning for free two days a week...I need an income. So, I've decided to try and get a bar/night job, along with working casually with the company I am currently at.

Has anyone else sacrificed their life for their dream opportunity? How do you go about working a zillion differant roles? I have once worked 4 jobs at the same time, but they were all in the same industry and it just worked...

I am a very hard worker, and I have so much passion so I know I can do it. I'm just having a "Oh god, what am I doing?" moment!

Kind words of support? hugs? congratulatory ciders?

I think congratulations are in order to start with! Accepted to study AND the internship, that is huge!

When I was in the crazy like that I added up my days, so you have two days of study and two days of internship, thats four days, leaving three days left in the week. Take one day off to do nothing, no work, no study - thats the "me day" the day you play your sport, the day you eat drink and be merry, the day you do nothing that isn't making you an awesome person. So you have two days left in the week - two days to work full time if you get a job that fits in there, or if you are working nights you make those two days work for you in other ways.

And I know most people consider the weekend two days, but most of us fill those two days with laundry and grocerys and cleaning, but as far as I am concerned on "me day" I do NONE of those things, I will cram them into the rest of the week so I can have "me day".

If you are doing a three+ hour round trip to uni (which in Australia is entirely normal, heck my parents did that for 20+ years for work), I would suggest getting a laptop if you don't already have one and going public transport, you will get a huge amount of work done that way. I know people who have gotten through their medical degrees that way.

But bravo, well done!

Yes, and those with the determination will most likely make it. If you are young and not burning the candle at two ends (and sacrificing your sleep, or health), go for it!

I would check your contract...mine says I'm not allowed to go and work for clients in any capacity for two years after leaving the company. You were doing PR, right? That's standard practice in our industry, at least over here.

Back to the original question, personally I work to live not live to work so I would never find myself in your situation! I am NOT a hard worker. However, I would suggest that rather than throwing yourself into the bar job PLUS the casual work, pick one or the other and do that for a while to see if you can cope on that income alone. There's no use starting off using every free hour for study and work if you could get away with working less and having some down time.

I wouldn't do it. I'm definitely a "work to live" kind of girl, not a "live to work" kind of girl. I don't particularly like my current job, but it pays well. So I'm going to suck it up until I can make a move and do something I like.

I don't think there's any "dream" job that I would be willing to work 3 other jobs for. Part of my definition of a dream job involves being able to support myself. If it doesn't do that, then it doesn't qualify. Just because there are things you would do for free doesn't mean you should do them for free. Does that make sense?

poko wrote:

Has anyone else sacrificed their life for their dream opportunity? How do you go about working a zillion differant roles?

Congrats!

There was a point in my life where I sacrificed a lot to work two particular jobs which were very important to me. During this time I also worked two unrelated jobs, studied part-time, and did a lot of travelling in between (up to 20hrs a week). No lies, was a bit nuts - I was a time/energy machine - but having work friends and similarly hardworking friends helped a lot. Really enjoying some of my jobs helped - I used to bounce out of bed with excitement! I was also surrounded by good role models who were very supportive and looked out for me (eg not afraid to order me to take the day off).

Sometimes a career path isn't always conventional - if the internship is honestly a good foot in the door, and your gut instincts are screaming "Take it take it!", then do it Some people can tolerate work, other people need to love what they do. If you are one of these, then acknowledging it early and working with it is one of the best things you can do for yourself

I think that different people are fulfilled by different things in life. Some achieve fulfillment by raising a family, others through pursuing their hobbies or interests, others through a career they are passionate about, etc. If you feel like this opportunity could lead to a career that you love (like a full time position with your favourite sports team- I'm a sports fan, I totally get how that could be an absolute dream job), then go after it full steam ahead!

Whoa, after rereading that, 'full' seems like such a weird word haha.

Dammit, this thread isn't NEARLY as exciting as the title would suggest. "Sacrificing a life for a dream job..." Sounds like you're going to kill a chicken in a voodoo ceremony. Oh well. I hope everything works out for you anyway.

^ LOL! Sorry to disappoint!

So, a bit of an update...

Since leaving my old role, I haven't been so happy in a long time. I've enrolled in my course, and am loving it. It turns out a lot of my "exams" will just be a supervisor monitoring my work, as it's a "hands on" sort of course.

My internship starts on Monday, and I've had quite a few meetings with my new bosses in the past few weeks, outlining what my role will be etc. It's been created for me in mind, and I'll be combining my two favorite things... Event management and football. What more could I want?

In regards to paid work, I have a little bit of money left from my old job, so I've been holding onto that. I've had about 8-10 hours a week for another company (who happens to be the major sponsor for the company I am interning at, so they are find with it) doing marketing and promotions and it's working out really well

I'm still nervous about the cash situation, but as my course is classified "full time", I'll temporarily be able to get some money from the government to help me out a bit in the mean time. Yes, it means I'm pretty much living on water, cheese slices and bread...but I'm happy. I feel confident in what I'm doing, and I think I really have a shot in this industry.

Thanks for all the kind words of advice and support.

And hey, this newfound confidence led me to ask out a guy I have liked for a bit...and we're going out to dinner soon.! Double yay!

hey girl, I have no advice, but, I do want to tell you how much I admire you. You are putting in your time now, but, it's not forever, but, the experiences you are gaining are. You sound like an exemplary employee, and, if they created the position for you, you are wanted! Pat yourself on the back, you have accomplished so much and are so driven, most people your age just want to party, which, we all know, gets you nowhere. So, congrats! Job well done!

Well, today they offered me a permanent part time (paid!) role!

That, on top of an extra 15 hours at my second job, and a night bar job... And I'm well on my way back to having cash! Haha. My hard work has paid off... And sooner than I thought!