I think one thing that could help is if the job instructor quests allowed for remote completion, and had their level requirement removed so that they could be 100% done in succession (sometimes a quest doesn't level you up and you cannot accept the next one). For some classes like thief that ask you to kill stumps, the best map to do so is in perion / elinia, and you cannot afford to take the cab between that town and kerning, so you are forced to slog away at worse maps.
These quests would usually give you enough potions to carry on until you can self sustain.