There's a reason they call it a “dream” job: It's been in the back of your mind forever, the shining star of your cheesy vision board and the secret thing you still hold on to, even after years of mediocre day jobs. It's beautiful, it's aspirational and it's not attainable in the least.
That is, until you attain it. By some ridiculous combination of hard work, connections and luck, you finally land that dream job.
So what now? What happens when a “dream” job morphs overnight into a “reality” job?
Well, as most people will tell you, it's not always exactly what you anticipated.
Though obviously a well-deserved career advancement is NEVER a bad thing, every new opportunity has its set of challenges, particularly the opportunities that we've been building up in our heads and our hearts ever since third grade career day.
Here are some hurdles that you may not be expecting when you score that holy grail job.
1. Your expectations will ALWAYS fall short of reality.
So you finally have the job that you fantasized about since you were a little kid, which means that you've got YEARS of built-up expectations, some of which are bound to collapse once you get into the swing of things.
Even if the job is indeed great, it'll never live up to the perfect image you've always had in your head, and this realization can be as disappointing as it is surprising.
2. With great power comes great responsibility.
We know, we know: It's a total cliché. But it's so, so true. Especially when we're talking about your career.
Remember the days when you could roll into work late, troll the internet for most of the day and then sneak off early to get a head start at happy hour? Well, that was then.
Now that your job is actually important (to you and to your company), get ready for a brutal reality check.
3. Your stress level will probably skyrocket.
Finally scoring a job that you GAF about is an awesome feeling, and it means that in this role, you'll be WAY more invested in your work performance than ever before.
Yes, you'll freak out about deadlines, triple-check simple emails and overanalyze your boss's reaction to your performance.
4. Your peers will no longer be your peers.
Attaining your dream job via a badass promotion at your current job can be pretty sick — you get to take a step up career-wise, but you DON'T have to get used to a whole new office with new co-workers and a totally different company culture.
What's not so great, however, is the super awkward adjustment of becoming your work BFF's boss when you suddenly rise through the ranks.
Get ready for some weird AF one-on-ones.
5. You'll probably fall victim to Imposter Syndrome.
Unless you've got some insane level of confidence, you're probably susceptible to a little thing called Imposter Syndrome. This basically means that, no matter how hard you've worked to achieve your new kick ass job, there's a little part of you that feels like a fraud who could be exposed at any moment.
Yeah, it's ridiculous, but it's so real, especially when you finally start getting the professional recognition that you deserve.
6. Failure is no longer an option, and that's pretty daunting.
When you have a sub-par job that does little more for you than pay the bills, the notion of not succeeding isn't a huge deal. Sure, you don't want to get fired or quit under bad circumstances, but if it happens, it happens. It's not the end of the world.
When you have your dream job, on the other hand, failure is not a viable outcome any longer, and this fact makes (inevitable) screw-ups that much more devastating.
7. Your personal life could very well suffer.
With a newfound dream job comes newfound commitments: You might have to work late nights and come in on weekends, check email on holidays and start putting work before your personal life.
And whether it's your dating life, family life or just chill time with your BFFs, you'll eventually have to sacrifice some aspect of the day-to-day that you know so well.
Professional success comes at a cost, and only you can decide if it's worth it. (Spoiler Alert: It probably is.)
Landing your dream job doesn't always live up to the fantasy. Just ask The Magicians' Queen Margo and King Eliot who discover, this season, that a big title can be a real buzz kill. Don't miss the Season 2 premiere Wednesday, January 25 at 9/8c on Syfy.
