Fashion Design grad here! a phrase that helped me early in my career was, “your career is a jungle gym, not a ladder.”
Lean into what seriously interests and inspires you, lean away from the mundane, stressful, and toxic—and climb away. I started as a fashion designer in nyc, but clothes ended up boring me. Now, I work in comms and account mgmt at an ad agency! brand psychology and identity is part of what drew me to fashion, and it took leaving fashion (and nonprofit!) to find happiness at work.
PS unravel work/career as an identity as quickly as possible to achieve maximum health/happiness in work. I quit a glam yet toxic job “on paper” last year spent the summer reflecting on why we so often ask kids what they want to be —vocation based—when they grow up. When I grow up I want to be kind, generous, funny, happy, and as self sufficient as possible.