Month: March 2023

Graduated from Berklee Online in 2020 with a major in Professional Studies. Principal instrument: Guitar.

Position: Quality Analyst: Trust & Safety at TikTok, the popular short-form video app. James has three responsibilities that each take up roughly equal time: looking the the work of content moderators to ensure they’re doing their jobs correctly, analyzing data, and reporting his findings.

Overview: James came to “brick-and-mortar” Berklee in 2009, but he left after two years, eager to get out and tour. He had some rough years, but by 2014 he has living in Nashville and playing base and touring with a guy who was doing extremely experimental music. By 2018 this was winding down. James had to take a job in a restaurant to make ends meet, meanwhile, that experience had made him lose interest in more conventional music gigs. James decided he needed a decent day job, and that meant completing his degree.

James was able to stay in Nashville and complete his degree on Berklee Online while he made money filing papers in a law office. He finished his Berklee Online degree just as the pandemic hit and started looking for jobs. Pretty quickly James was hired by Tiktok in a contract position as a content moderator, but his high quality work and diligence led to a conversion to salaried employee and a promotion into his current position within six months.
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You can see James’s LinkedIn profile here.
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Choice Quotes: ” I really love Tiktok! I love the people I work with and what I do. As to the work itself, it’s never exactly the same thing twice. There’s room for play, thinking, and trying to figure out why things are happening the way they are. That makes my job a refreshing experience every day.”

“When I was first at Berklee, I avoided non-music classes. But you really want to be a full person–folks who go for more traditional degrees get to do that more. I couldn’t do my job today if it weren’t for the Berklee Online math class.”

“Seek outsized responsibilities for your role. What’s been exciting for me at Tiktok is the same as what excited me while touring. Back then I’d never toured before, played a somewhat unfamiliar instrument in a brand new genre. Responsibility is an opportunity to learn and grow. Don’t just frame yourself as able to do what you’re already doing. People or companies, if they buy in that you’re capable, will give you opportunities to do more. I’ve gotten the greatest return on my investment at those jobs where I had to stretch myself.”

“After I got the job at TikTok they required a photo of my diploma. I was like, ‘Wow, thanks to Berklee Online I finally have this’! In general, music is a language and in many ways your brain starts to work in terms of communicating with other people, what makes people tick/what are their internal systems/talents? In my wife’s school, computer programming is part of the language dept. Music should be too.”

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See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.

Graduated in 2019 with a major in Music Business. Principal instrument: voice.

Position: Digital Content Coordinator (since promoted to Digital Marketing Manager) at Golden Technologies., a large family business that makes powered wheelchairs and other items to assist mobility for the physically disabled and well as reclining furniture. Alyssa creates digital advertising content, works with the marketing team to develop strategies to build brand awareness, and meets with retailers to discuss ways to help them grow their business.

Overview: Alyssa grew up aware of the family business, but she wasn’t interested and her parents didn’t pressure her. While at Berklee she discovered the Music Business program and really enjoyed it. Alyssa decided to go straight to graduate school to study business; she applied in got into a Masters in Communications program at Drexler University. In her first year she worked at a paid internship at Universal and did classes at night, then the pandemic hit and the internship was indefinitely paused. She moved back home and started to work at the family business as a marketing assistant — the business was considered essential so remained open.

Initially Alyssa planed to return to Universal, but she found she really enjoyed the business, and with her growing responsibilities at this job an internship somewhere else felt like a step backward in her career. She opted to stay with Golden Technologies. At the end of 2020 she received her Masters Degree, and six months later she was promoted to Digital Content Coordinator.
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You can see Alyssa’s LinkedIn profile here.

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Choice Quotes: “I’ve always been business-driven. I always liked marketing the best. I enjoy creating content, getting to know my audience–in part because I’m a performer. I love that I’m helping people–I see every day how our products truly help improve people’s quality of life. I’m one small part of that.”

“Every skill I learned at Berklee has been totally tranferable to my professional and personal career. Companies want to hire musicians! Before my job at Golden I interviewed and companies were so interested in my music caerer. They like creators.”

“Things have a funny way of working themselves out. I found something that was giving me purpose.”

“Keep learning. Marketing is CONSTANTLY changing! One week later there can be a new thing trending. Subscribe to marketing newsfeeds to stay on top of it. But at the same time your job isn’t your identity. Keep up with your passions, and if you’re meant to be at a different place, go with that feeling.”

“That first year after Berklee I was burned out on music and focused on school. Then Covid hit and I started to practice more. I never gigged much while at Berklee, though I sang a bit. Now I’m gigging more than ever and getting paid for it on top of my day job!”
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See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.