Until feb 2020 I worked in sales & marketing and was often confronted by my boss for getting paid small amounts and doing small graphic design jobs in the local community, as he wanted me to “focus on my real job” because “no one can do that stuff as a career, so it's a waste of time”
This led to me quitting and looking for a job in design instead, then only 2 weeks later the pandemic hit the UK and we were in full lockdown. During the pandemic there were little-to-no jobs in design available anywhere near me, so I was doing super cheap freelance work to make ends meet, debating begging for my old job back.
Fast forward to now, I have worked with a number of major record labels and corporations via my freelance business (www.jpegarchie.com) , which I have now made a fair buck in, and 6 months ago got my first full time job within the design industry, as a creative/design lead working for a global finance consultancy, with a revenue of £25m+ dealing with over 750 franchises and overseeing all of the marketing material.
TLDR: proved my asshole boss wrong and took a huge step towards achieving my dream.