Career Lesson

I thought I was a genius. At 21, living in the UK, I was making £12 an hour at a part-time F&B job and felt like I was winning at life. I was "making my own means," saving up for weekend trips to Europe, and feeling proud that I wasn't asking my parents for cash. I called it a hustle, but honestly? It was a trap. I was trading my best energy for a paycheck that felt big at the time but did absolutely nothing for my future. I’d finish a shift physically exhausted, too tired to study or network, just to fund a flight to Paris that I’d forget about a year later.

The raw truth is that F&B money is "trap money." It feels like freedom because you can afford the lifestyle right now, but it’s actually killing your future. You are trading your most valuable asset: your cognitive energy for a low-level wage. While your peers are spending those grueling 20 hours a week in university societies, networking at corporate mixers, or securing "Spring Insights" at firms in Canary Wharf, you are physically exhausting yourself in a high-pressure environment that offers zero professional opportunities.

They were learning the software and meeting the people who actually hire for the big-girl jobs. I told myself I was learning "people skills," but being good with customers in a cafe doesn't mean anything to a corporate recruiter. When it came time to graduate, I realised my resume was basically empty. I had three years of "UK experience," but on paper, I just looked like a tourist who worked a side gig.

You’re graduating with a tan and a camera roll full of memories, but you're starting at zero in the professional world. If I could go back, I’d take a boring, remote admin job or a low-level campus role for half the pay, just to have a "name" on my CV and some brain power left over to network. 

 If you find yourself in this loop, the only way out is to pivot immediately: trade the F&B shifts for campus brand ambassador roles, remote freelancing, or even unpaid research assistantships. These roles may not fund a luxury getaway today, but they prevent the "Entry-Level Ceiling" at 25, ensuring that your time abroad serves as a career launchpad rather than just an expensive, physically demanding detour.

Don't wake up at 25 and realize the only thing you’re qualified to do is the same entry-level work you were doing at 21. Don't let a "travel fund" trick you into sabotaging your entire future.

Recording your small wins is like building a professional highlight reel in real-time. Since I start my fist big-girl job at 22, I noticed that when I help people manage massive projects, the "middle slump" is where motivation usually dies. By tracking the small stuff such as  fixing a stubborn bug or navigating a tense meeting, you prove to yourself that you’re actually moving the needle. It turns "I think I’m doing okay" into "I have the data to show I’m killing it."

How I approach: 

I keep a simple "Win Log" in a digital notepad. Every time a teammate sends a "Thank you" or I finish a task ahead of schedule, I screenshot the email chain/ messages and drop a quick note there. When it comes time for my own performance check-ins, I don’t have to stress or dig through months of emails. I just open my log and say, "Here exactly is how I added value." It shifts the conversation from asking for a favor to presenting a case.