6 Job Perks That Can Lead to a Dream Career

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Work can be a necessary evil. Individuals might dream of being an award winning writer or inventor, but those dreams — without any pursuit to make them a reality — do not provide money for nourishment, shelter, and other financial obligations. Short of being independently wealthy or having a family you can lean on, the budding entrepreneur or artist might need to procure a day job as they pursue their professional goals.

When applying for jobs, think beyond yearly salary and hourly wage. The right job perks can streamline how fast it might take to achieve your dreams.

1. Free Education

Higher education can be the key to professional success. For some, a degree is a necessity to break into a new field. For others, college can provide face-to-face mentorship time with award winning professionals in their field. Despite these benefits, the cost of college often leads students to either acquiring thousands in student loan debt or forgoing a college education altogether.

There is another option. You can pursue a job at a company that has a tuition reimbursement program. Before choosing a potential company to pursue, look at the fine print.

2. Skill Building

Before you start applying for jobs, sit down to determine what skills will help you score your dream job. You can decrease the time it takes you to land that job if your day job will allow you to learn and practice new skills that will be necessary for your chosen path to success.

If you don't have the credentials to start in a position that allows you to utilize those desired skills, make it clear to managers what types of opportunities you would be interested in pursuing. Many companies, in a bid to keep good employees happy, will offer professional opportunities to individuals as the need arises.

3. Making Valuable Contacts

One very crucial aspect of achieving success is knowing the right people. An ideal day job would place you in a position to build personal and professional relationships, both inside and outside of the organization.

At work, be friendly with individuals from various departments. Don't just talk shop. You want to cultivate relationships, so you can (if necessary) call in a favor down the road. If you cut right to asking them to help you, it can seem a tad selfish.

You should also keep an eye out for jobs where cultivating a social media presence is a requirement. A large personal LinkedIn or Twitter following can lead to a larger pool of people that will see posts about your future art, book, product, or company.

4. Telecommuting Allowed

Daily commutes can steal several hours from your life. On average, the daily commute is around 25 minutes. Some spend even more time commuting. My average daily commute is around an hour. That's one less hour every day I can devote to pursuing my personal goals.

Telecommuting jobs allow individuals to cut travel time out of their daily lives and dedicate that time to other professional pursuits. As an added bonus, the elimination of the commute will allow you to decrease the amount you spend on gas every month.

5. Flexible Schedule

Some jobs not only allow you to determine where you work, but they also allow you to dictate when you work. The ability to work when you want will allow you more freedom to work towards your ultimate goals.

If you know you have a meeting with a potential investor or publisher on a Monday, you won't need to figure out how to convince your boss to give you a few hours off of work. Instead you simply let them know you'll work the hours later in the day on Monday or over the weekend. This can be useful if you don't particularly want the higher-ups at your company to know how close you might be to quitting your day job.

6. Condensed Work Week

The 9-to-5 is the traditional time frame in which corporate America works. While it can be far better than the rotating schedule dished out in many retail and food service jobs, individuals can be more productive if they try to find a job where they work four, 10-hour shifts.

The benefit of working 10-hour shifts is the ability to dedicate three full days to your money making side projects. You no longer need to fight with yourself to muster up the motivation to dedicate a few hours to your side-hustle every night after work. That can be hard due to lingering work stress, physical exhaustion (depending on how much physical labor is involved), and the desire to spend time with family. You now have one work-free day to diligently work on completing your other projects.

What other work perks can make you more money? Share with us!

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