Graduated in 2015 with a major in Professional Music. Principal Instrument: guitar.
Position: Marketing Manager at Plastic Assembly Systems, a small industrial company that builds equipment which molds together large pieces of plastic. As the only marketing person at the company, Brendan is responsible for updating the website with photos and videos of thier equipment, the social media marketing, using google analytics, emailing customers, and handling incoming calls.
Overview: Brendan’s father has worked at Plastic Assembly systems for a long time, which led to Brendan working in their machine shop as a teenager. After graduation, Brendan wanted to work in music, but wasn’t sure what he wanted his exact career to look like, as the standard ones didn’t really appeal to him. He moved home and worked again at Plastic Assembly Systems, doing shipping and a bit of video. But Brandon was looking for other opportunties and via a job board he found employment at a local branch of a music school, Bach to Rock. He started as a part-time instructor, but after a bit this job became a full-time combination of teaching, marketing, and management. At this point he resigned from Plastic Assembly Systems.
Unfortunately, by 2020 Brendan was feeling burned out on this job. The hours and commute were long, the job was stressful, and the pay didn’t justify it. He looked for other positons but wasn’t having any luck. Then his old boss at Plastic Assembly Systems reached out: their marketing person had left and they were changing the position and thought he’d be a great fit. Brendan returned there and took on his current role, combining what he’d learned at Back to Rock with what he needed to figure out on the job.
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You can see Brendan’s LinkedIn profile here.
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Choice Quotes: “My boss says, ‘Do you know why I don’t bother you a lot? Becuase I know you’re doing your job and yo’ure good at what you do and I see the results.’ So–they’re very flexible and have been accommodating for when I want to go on tour. I’m very lucky!”
“It’s still a creative job. From the photoshop stuff and making videos. I can figure out what to do between projects–I can attack what inspires me and seems exciting (and what needs to be done). I also really like giving identity to something that’s not mine. Me growing up, not having much money, all the technical skills I got has a kid needing to do all the pubicity myself has been valuable for my career. This at least checks off the boxes for me to be happy about a job: freedom, creativity, and putting my stamp on something.”
“The quantity and quality of the work I had to do at Berklee made me almost overestimate what would be asked of me as a working adult. I look back on how much work I had to do at Berklee and how I always had to figure out how to get it all done–and how I always got through it. Berklee forced me to take things seriously and showed me what I was capable of.”
“Music is in my DNA, then it became a job. It’s easy to become jaded, but remember why you applied to Berklee–you have to reverse-engineer that. Why did you do that? Today I’m loving music more than ever and feel very true to myself. Music still your voice and nobody can take it from you. Stay in touch, even if it’s not your main job. You’re special, and don’t need to live up to someone else’s expectation.
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