From Unglam to Glam: The Glamorous Life Takes Time

Glamorous millionaires driving Ferraris. That’s essentially what we all want right? We want to live the nice life, the fast life, the rich life. We don’t want to ever have to worry about money. We want a job that will give us the big bucks and the glamour. We want to be Meryl Streep in Devil Wears Prada (hopefully with a better personality!). But sometimes, we have to start out as Anne Hathaway.

That’s right, your first job out of college will most likely not be your dream job. It won’t be glamorous. You won’t be able to buy that Ferrari. In fact, you’ll be lucky if you can afford your rent with your entry-level salary. You’ll most likely be an assistant, or an associate, or a coordinator, or any of the other synonyms. As an entry-level position you’ll be the lowest on the totem pole, only above the interns. This is all okay, I promise. It’s normal. We all start here.

In the wise words of Drake, “started from the bottom now we’re here.” Everyone starts somewhere. Everyone has to have a first job. It’s pretty much impossible to go from having no work experience to being CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation. When it comes to having the prestigious title and salary, patience is key. Experience is important, as well as growing your network. Both of these things take time. It’s okay if you’re not working at your dream job freshly out of college. You’re not alone. There is hope, and a lot of it.

My neighbor is currently a managing director at a very, very well known bank, and yes you can imagine, he makes bank as well. He lives a glamorous life that can be comparable to the male version of Meryl Streep’s character. However, it was not always like this. He did not come from a wealthy family, and nothing was handed to him. His first job out of college was as an auditor. Yes, he was the lowest on the totem pole, and the man everyone hated. He would do the books for different companies, and dreaded doing so almost as much as the employees dreaded him showing up. Fast-forward a couple of decades later, and he’s living the dream life.

I recently saw a meme on Facebook that said “Don’t call it a dream. Call it a plan.” Reaching your dreams takes time. It takes plans. It doesn’t just happen overnight. You need to work at it, overcome obstacles, and never give up. As much as we’d love for our dream jobs to be handed to us on silver platters, that’s unfortunately not how real life works. We all start out as Anne Hathaway, and everything is going to be okay.

Remember, when it comes to first jobs, try not to be too picky. Just because you may not have your dream title or salary in your twenties does not mean that it can’t turn into it. You can make your dreams a reality, but you have to start somewhere. Make a plan. Have a roadmap. Build your network. Take the job, and work your way up the ladder to more. You too can be Meryl Streep.