After 1 year of unemployment, I’m finally starting my first job next week. Mixed feelings tbh.
I applied almost daily for a year, did interviews, got rejected, got ghosted, heard “you are the perfect candidate” and then never heard back again. It was honestly very frustrating and mentally exhausting.
Now unfortunately I’m joining as a Data Cleansing Coordinator for 15k/month. Not really what I dreamed of and I’m not very happy about the salary or role, but at this point I just didn’t want to sit at home anymore and wanted to start somewhere.
I also joined a Data Analyst course, but I’m not fully depending on them for placement. I tried for Business Analyst roles in startups too but no luck yet.
So I wanted to ask people here:
Any tips for first job? Office behaviour, how to learn fast, things you wish you knew earlier?
If I want to move into Data Analyst / Business Analyst roles, what should I focus on in the next 1–2 years?
When is the right time to switch the first job? 6 months? 1 year?
How do you maintain work-life balance in the first job?
Has anyone done freelance data cleaning / Excel / data work online? Is it actually possible to earn from it?
What skills should I learn alongside my job to grow faster and not get stuck in low salary roles?
Honestly I feel a bit like I failed and I’m just settling right now, but I also know doing something is better than doing nothing. So I want to use this job as a stepping stone, not a permanent stop.
Any advice from people who started from a low salary / non-dream job and then grew later would really help.