I Landed My Dream Gig But I Ended Up Hating It

Let me paint the scene. You’ve finally finished a gruelling 13 years of study. Towards the tail-end, it consisted of late-night cram sessions, exams and assignments. You’ve worked so hard to achieve your goal final mark so you can head off to uni and start chasing your dream. But it’s no drama, because it’s something you’re passionate about.

Now, fast-forward a couple of years and all the hard work has finally paid off because you’ve landed your dream gig. Life couldn’t get much better than this, right?

But as you work your dream gig, you start to develop this gut feeling that’s telling you something isn’t right. You think it’s anything but your job, because who would think it’d be something you’ve been passionate about for so long. Unfortunately, that feeling doesn’t go away.

Now, you dread the thought of waking up to go to your supposed ‘dream gig’. When you’re working, you put on a brave face and tolerate any interaction you come across just to save face. It’s not long until seconds feel like hours and all you want to do is pack your sh*t and go home. But unfortunately, you have to come back the next day. And the next day. And the day after that. It’s a never-ending cycle of absolutely hating what you’re doing.

How could this happen? Why do I hate my ‘dream gig’? And what really is that feeling in my gut?

Well, the feeling is frustration and disappointment just because you’ve spent a considerable amount of time only to be let down by the outcome.

Yeah, it’s gut-wrenching.

For context, my dream gig was working in law. I landed a job in a firm whilst studying at uni, but after a couple of months I knew this wasn’t something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It just wasn’t what I thought it was all cracked up to be. So, I stuck it out for a year and said sayonara. I had no idea what I wanted to do next, but I knew that wasn’t it. All in all, I landed my dream gig but I ended up hating it.

Couple months down the track, I rekindled my love for writing. Then, I took a chance and applied for a job here at Year13 as a writer with absolutely no experience – only a newfound passion. Fast forward a year and a bit, and here I am. Still at one of the best places I’ve worked, absolutely loving what I’m doing.

What I’m trying to get at is it’s okay to hate your supposed ‘dream gig’ when you’ve given it a shot. You’ll be confused, but the beauty is that you’ll find new passions and even form a new dream gig because there is no such thing as a fixated dream gig.

Your passions change, and naturally, so will your careers. Your career path isn’t as linear as you think, but that’s what makes life fun – you’re always wearing different hats. So it’s okay to feel like you hate your dream gig.

It also may be the case that you absolutely love the industry you’re in, just not a fan of the gig you’re in. There are an absolute bucketload of different gigs in an industry. And that’s cool too. You’ve given one job a shot so it might be time to try something else under the same umbrella.

Now if you’re still chasing your dream gig – keep going. Don’t let this deter you, because you won’t know until you try. If and when you develop a feeling a doubt, don’t ignore it. Act on it. But more important, be excited for change. It’s really a beautiful thing.