CW,
I must go with Alf's view on this. I've seen too many weak-minded guys get ordered around by GFs and Wifies and miss out on exciting opportunities, only for said relationship to subsequently fail.
There are millions of potential GFs out there, but only one, maybe two, career paths. You have to be ruthlessly single minded at your stage in life, the rest will follow. Give the mob a go, you'll regret it later if you don't.