Erika: I’ve had my new job since the 23rd of May this year, but what is it really I’ve changed from, and to?

Twelve years ago I started working on a ferry as a croupier, maybe the word dealer makes more sense to some. I came onboard the first time so young and innocent, and I’d brought my whole life with me. I had never been away on my own for two weeks before. It was big. A young girl, all on her own out there in the big world. Add shy to that.

I had already worked for three years as a dealer back home at nightclubs, so the actual job wasn’t new to me. But this was! A ferry crossing the North Sea, and all its bad weather that never crossed my mind before accepting the job. Twelve years later, and I still haven’t got rid of my seasickness…

During these twelve years I’ve grown and learned so much about myself, so I would never change it. I’ve met some amazing people, and some not so amazing. I’ve laughed and I have cried. I have, most of the time, enjoyed living on the go and the freedom that came with it. It has some what been lonely, but onboard we were one big family, with all what that means.

But! For the last five years or so, I’ve felt that I want to move on and pursue that dream of mine. My dream hasn’t only been about what type of job I get, but also about going back to School. It’s not only about having a degree to back me up either, but the need of learning, and growing. My brain needs a challenge to feel at ease, and to be happy. A lot has happened in those five years, a lot of sad things and wrong decisions, but in the last six months I’ve taken some big decisions and I’m now on my way.

My list of goals has always been long, mostly because I’ve never ticked anything off the list, but now I have to start focusing on what my goals really are, the most important ones.

Applying for school is easy, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll start. So what did I do? What was and is my plan? Walking away from a full time, well paid job is maybe not considered as the most clever thing to do, and especially not just before you start studying. Or is it?

I was so lucky with this new job. I applied with no experience at all, except life experience, and got the job within a week. Firstly, just let me tell you a little bit about the job. The Malmö office is 700 meters away from my apartment, which is brilliant, and the company’s name is Jurek Recruitment & Staffing (Jurek Rekrytering & Bemanning). We specialize within the law, economic, HR and marketing areas. http://en.jurek.se/ I had two weeks of training before my colleague (who is vastly more experienced!!) left for her nine weeks vacation, and I’m now in charge of all her ongoing assignments within recruitment, her consultants and all the new assignments coming in. It’s a lot. It’s a lot of stress and no rest. But I love it! I’m learning things almost every day, and it puts me in a position where I will be ahead of things when I start studying. That was one part of my plan when I applied for/accepted this job.

Yes, it’s a summer job/student job, but that’s kind of the next point. I’m used to earning money, but that has to change, at least for the next three years. Over the summer I will force myself to get used to less money, and when school starts the money will even become less than that. It’s not easy being 30+, on your own and starting a new life, so I needed a plan. And this is my plan as of now. It might be that I get hours at this new job while studying, which is also my plan, but that is nothing I can count on. I’m a hard working person, and I will try to show my bosses that it was a correct decision to do a bit of a gamble on me, and to make them see that we can help each other while I study. A good CV isn’t (at all times) everything!