Graduated in 2017 with majors in Performance and Music Production & Engineering. Principal instrument: guitar.
Position: Software Developer at Falvi Insurance Group, a 200-person insurance company, close to 20% of whom work in I.T.. They’re based in Rhode Island, though Rodrigo lives in Miami and works remotely. He’s on a team that builds software tools used both internally and by their affiliates. For example, the software allows small insurance policies to be generated automatically. About 3/4 of his job involves writing code, the rest of the time spent in meetings, communication, testing, documentation, and so forth.
Overview: Shortly after graduation, Rodrigo got a postion as an assistant engineer at The Hit Factory, a famous studio in Miami. But the hours were long and the pay was extremely low. He got a substitute gig with a semi-famous musician, which opened the door to many other performance opportunities that paid far better than the engineering work (which mostly used him as a runner), so he left the studio after four months and signed on with multiple bands. Being from Venezuela, he mostly toured with bands from Mexico and toured Latin America professionally through early 2023, apart from 2020 where he mostly taught lessons. The money was decent, but he was traveling all the time and seldom saw his now-wife, who lived in Miami.
By early 2023, although he was offered the best paying tour of his career, Rodrigo wanted different lifestyle with less time away from home. He investigated other music careers he could do besides touring, but found them lacking. Then Rodrigo spoke with a cousin who worked at Google and advised he go to a coding boot camp, which he did in the spring of 2023. He worked for a friend’s startup first as an intern then as a contractor while looking for full-time positions, but it was very difficult in 2023 with layoffs happening at many of the largest tech firms. Over a thousand applications later, by November Rodrigo pivoted his job search strategy to connecting with professionals first. This quickly bore fruit and he got his current job.
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You can see Rodrigo’s LinkedIn profile here.
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Choice Quotes: “Believe it or not, I’ve met a lot of musicians who are software engineers. I’ve spoken with some. There are a lot of similarities in the mental space you have to be in to be good at it and write stuff that works. I’ve always been analytical about my process in music. That analytical/methodical mindset translated into my work. You have to think of what you’re goign to to do before you start doing it. Know what you’re doing and prepare first, then assemble it.”
“If you go through a basic tech course and you don’t enjoy it a lot, don’t do it. You have to become as obsessed with tech as with music to succeed.”
“When people go to Berklee they learn how difficult it is to become really really good at something. That’s something you don’t learn elsewhere. Berklee is a magnet for folks who are the best at their craft. That motivated me to try harder and think deeper about why I was doing things. In the corporate world it’s hard to find that beautiful spark that people at Berklee have.”
“Music is still a major part of my life. I’m still professional and get paid to do it. I just do it in a lesser capacity. I still play about 20 shows/year with a peson I used to play with. I’m able to take my work with me–code during the day then go to sound check at 5 and play a show.”
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