You might want to hang out with famous thought-leaders, politicians, and celebrities, but you’re just starting out in your career.
Maybe you want that high-paying VP role, but you’ve only been in this industry a year or two.
Perhaps you’re dying for that full-time studio job when you’re about to graduate from art school.
It’s great to be ambitious, and I’m never one to discourage others from going for their dreams. I’m also not a fan of “paying one’s dues” as I think that’s just ridiculous.
I do understand that sometimes, you’ve got to take the smallest step forward, and that might be freelancing before you find that full-time job. It might be starting at the bottom to get your foot in the door to show them that you’ve got the skills to move up quickly. It might be working multiple part-time jobs while you level up, strengthen your portfolio, or build your own project from the ground up.
It’s not glamorous work, but working side gigs and taking on small projects is still work. If you’re doing illustrations for a local comic book store, or doing marketing for your cousin’s coffee shop, it’s still work. If you’re delivering food while you try to build your start-up, there’s nothing wrong with that.
It might not be the work that you need to be doing. It might not be the work that you dream of doing, but it’s work. Don’t be ashamed of putting in labor no matter what it looks like as if it wasn’t valuable to someone, it wouldn’t be a job.
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