Author: Kevin

J.C. Zwisler

Listen to the interview (approx. 1 hr, 15 min.) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2010 with a major in Professional Music.  Principal instrument:  drums.

 

Position:  Associate Attorney at Ladas & Parry, LLP, a Intellectual Property (“IP”) law firm that specializes in international intellectual property law, with a bit over 100 attorneys spread over for primary locations.  J.C. is one of around 30 in their New York office, and one of 4 lawyers in the “Trademark Group.”  He’ll respond to clients’ queries, research issues, and write responses which are then looked over by one of the (more senior) partners.  A small fraction of his job involves trying to get new clients.

 

Overview:  J.C. planned to teach music after graduating at the end of 2010, and did so in the Boston Area for a year, getting private clients plus many clients in Weston and Wellesley through At Your Door Music.  He enjoyed working with them, but after a full year J.C. realized he was unhappy with this as a career–for most students “It was just another activity.” and his head would be ringing by the end of the day. He kept some students, as well as gigging with a band, while exploring other career options, particularly those still connected to music.  His Legal Aspects class at Berklee, plus his parents both being lawyers got him thinking about entertainment law, and conversations with several local entertainment lawyers made him choose that as a career.  J.C.  spent a while studying for the LSATs, and enrolled at NorthEastern University School of Law in the fall of 2013.

Very soon as he got there, J.C. realized he didn’t want do entertainment law.  “I learned more about what an entertainment attorney actually is. It’s not like it’s one thing. It’s someone who should know real estate, corporate, IP, maybe criminal.  That wasn’t what I was looking for. ”  But J.C. loved his IP law class, so he took all the IP classes he could, joined IP professional organizations and clubs, and took IP-related jobs.  After graduation and passing both the MA and NY bar exams, J.C.  undertook a full-time jobs search.  It took roughly six months, but in February 2017 an application to his current firm led to his current job.

 

You can see J.C.’s LinkedIn profile here.

 

Choice Quotes:  “I was drawn to IP (intellectual property) from the get-go. Also, it makes sense to me. When I try to explain trademark law to people, what it boils down to is two companies using marks which may or may not be similar for products that may or may not be similar. The question is are they similar enough for people to be confused? To me, that makes sense.”

“In our practice–and I think this is particular to trademarks–I bounce around all day on countless things. I come home and can’t recall everything I’ve don’t wtihout having to look back on my records.”

“A lot of what I do is routine, but when a client comes with something really different and it’s intellectually stimulating to turn your brain on and figure out new things–I enjoy that challenge. I have to keep up with trademark law as part of my job; there are a lot of interesting, impactful IP cases.”

“Dealing with first year law school was a major shock. Not that Berklee wasn’t challenging, but law school is a whole different beast.  You can’t prepare all that much, but brace yourself–it’s REALLY difficult!  Try to read a few case books before you go. Learn some rudimentary law before you step in.”

 

 

J.C. drumming with the band he was in for years, Jet Black Sunrise.  They played their farewell show in December 2017.  “When you’re a musician, you practice your craft. For me that was drums–going to (Berklee) classes all day, then practicing for hours at night. That taught me to focus in on something for long periods of time and apply apply apply myself until I get better at it. I went to law school with no real idea what was going on, but that same concept–reading stuff over and over until I got it was similar.   It was extremely hard, but I knew if I put in the time and worked it hard it would happen.”

 

 

J.C.  these days, with friends.  Life is going well, and he has some words of advice for Berklee grads thinking about a career in law,  “”It’s a double-edge sword. As a Berklee grad, you’re going to have to explain yourself a lot. This interview is just a long version of my 30-second elevator pitch I’ve done for years. But on the plus side, having Berklee on your resume will help you stand out–and in this field anything you can do to set yourself apart really helps!”

 

 

 

See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.

AJ Farley

Listen to the interview (approx. 1 hr, 15 min.) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2011 with a major in Professional Music.  Principal instrument:  alto saxophone.

 

Position:  Software Engineer at IQVIA, a large, Fortune 500 medical data firm.  AJ works on a 6-person team (4 designers, 2 engineers) that builds demos and prototypes for internal use.  He also has a side job with a start up that uses blockchain technology to build “smart contracts.”

 

Overview:   AJ spent his first three years after graduation in California (a years in Chico, followed by two in Oakland) working in various food-related jobs.  On a farm, selling juice, working at Whole Foods, managing a cafe.  But by 2012 he was getting interested in technology via interactions with customers and others.  “”If you live in the Bay Area, software is just part of your world.”  He started to teach himself coding in his off-time, but put that aside as his music opportunities multiplied and he did several tours.  With those done in 2014 and feeling burned out on the small-business food world, AJ was attracted to the opportunities and higher pay in high technology.  He spent over a year getting up to speed, between self-study and attending a coding “boot camp.”

It took 4 months and 100 applications to get his first job, which was in Las Vegas.  He moved out there, but got laid off 5 months later.  He moved to Seattle and spent over 3 months in the next job search, keeping himself busy by building websites from scratch.  Finally, in July of 2017 he was hired into his current job.

 

You can see AJ’s LinkedIn profile here.

 

Choice Quotes:  “I love what I do.  I wake up every day and want to win at this. I’m totally dedicated to this. For the last month I worked so much–and rather than complain it’s because I wanted to do that! I see this progress, and it’s real.”

“What I care about is solving problems. That’s the name of the game when it comes to tech. . I’m trying to work with more decentralized tech, which the general public will be able to take advantage of and empower themselves with it. As a musician, there are technical solutions which will help musicians, and I’m not just talking about streaming.”

“There’s so much pressure to just do music (or just live in a certain city)–I got that pressure a lot.  But listen to yourself, and follow your gut, period. None of those other folks are going to pay your bills and rent or live your life.   However you’re trying to put it together, stay with that vision and don’t let things break your focus. If you’re trying to get into a non-music career, just do it!”

 

AJ as a Berklee student, playing his sax.  “Coding is not easy; it is not for dabblers if you want to do it for a living. If you want to be good for the long haul, you have to take it as seriously as you took your instrument–you need to work VERY hard.”

 

 

 

 

 

AJ feeling good in Seattle.”I sometimes can’t believe I have this career that I have. Music and software are everything to me. I have so much to offer to the world.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.

Chris Carlberg

Listen to the interview (approx 1 hr, 2 min.) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2012 with a major in Music Business.  Principal instrument:  guitar.

 

Position:  Financial Adviser (investment sales) at Edward Jones, a national, privately-held financial firm which specializes in personal investing.  Chris’s job is to find new individual/household investors, and help them choose the right investments to help them meet their financial goals.  “I’m essentially a business owner and Edward Jones backs me with materials, administrative support, and what I need to run my business.”

 

Overview:  A successful child actor and musician, Chris went to Berklee in his mid-20s when the recession hit and work dried up.  After graduating in under 3 years, Chris moved back home to L.A., where he reconnected with his old girlfriend (now fiancee).  Several months later, she was pregnant, and he frantically sought an income sufficient to support a family.  He worked 7 days/week at four jobs:  teaching music, producing, bartending, and gigging, but was feeling worn down by mid-2014 and posted on Facebook if anyone could hook him up with a better career.  A friend recommended him for an internet marketing manager for Scorpion, an internet marketing firm, and he got the job.

Chris stayed with Scorpion for 2 years, before deciding that he wanted to move to Oregon.  Unable to work remotely, he sought new employment and found a job with Edward Jones.  Ironically, just as his 10-week training (during which he got his Series 7 and Series 66 certifications) was wrapping up, he was informed that they no longer were placing new advisers in Oregon, so he elected to stay in L.A.  Chris has been there since, networking and building his business.

 

You can see Chris’s LinedIn profile here.

 

Choice Quotes: “There’s a big reward in professions where you’re helping people. I get to help people undersand how it all works, and also achieve their goals. I ease their stress about having to worry about this, and help them achieve those goals.   Also, a lot of my job involves meeting my neighbors.  I love being integrated into my community, and I get to make friends all day!””

“I’d equate it to a franchise, except that normally with a franchise you have to buy in with your own money. This is the same idea, but instead they bought into me–giving me a salary and training to get my Series 7, Series 66, and California licenses.”

“My life is my family. This job affords me to help my family in multiple ways.  I am able to make money to support them well and pay for vacations and other enrichment for my children, and the flexible hours allows me to spend time with my kids.”

“Certain Liberal Arts classes at Berklee really opened me up to appreciating learning. That again is a big reason I took this job, where I’m constantly learning new things–as a financial adviser I have to follow world events, politics, etc. and understand the impact on the markets.”

“Whatever it is you want to do / see happen, go do it!  We all have excuses, but we all have stuff we want to do.  If it’s meant to happen, make it happen!”

 

 

See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.

Jeffrey Arevalo

 

Listen to the interview (approx. 1 hr, 5 min.) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2013 with a major in Music Business.  Principal instrument:  drums.

 

Position:  Insurance “Outside” Sales (official title:  Mortgage Protection Specialist) at Symmetry Financial Group, a large life insurance company offering many different insurance products.  A commission-only-based job, Jeffrey receives sales leads directly from his company, and his job is to sent up appointments to visit potential clients, find them appropriate insurance to cover their home mortgages in case of illness/disability/death, and sell them the appropriate product.  He also spends time recruiting others to work for the company, and expects to be promoted to director of his own insurance agency several months from now.

Overview:  After graduation Jeffrey moved back to Sarasota, Florida, and for the next several years he was “a workaholic–working (mostly construction and odd jobs) every day and gigging every night.”  But he had a lot of student debt, and was only treading water financially.  In the spring of 2017, a friend in Connecticut offered that he move up there and try to get a fresh start.  Jeffrey moved there and spent the next two months applying to over 200 jobs.  He got five offers, of which the offer for his current job was the most appealing.

It was tough “going from expert musician to the new guy,” and for the first three weeks he had no success.  But in week 4 it clicked, and he realized he could do this.   He has had great success in his current job, and is moving toward a more senior role.

 

You can see Jeffrey’s LinkedIn profile here.

 

Choice Quotes:  “I like four things about my job:  1) The freedom. I create my own schedule, and can work anywhere I have my phone. Usually I’m working from home.  2) The compensation is great!  3) I’m making an impact, making the world a bit better by being here. 4) The culture of the business.  I’m really close to the team I’m on, and there’s a large focus on personal development.”

“I have been very successful here, and my managers say it’s because of my work ethic.  Musicians have a lot of grit and commitment and know that you have to put in hours of work to be successful.”

“The world needs more role models. Be a mentor; be a leader. Surround yourself with people you look up to. Find role models, talk to them. Read books. Chart your progressions, and don’t give up.”

“Music has been and always will be a big part of my life, it’s in my heart. I’ve always been a fan too. I’m taking a break now, but I’m not giving up on music, and I regret nothing.”

 

 

See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.

James Giannoni

Listen to the interview (approx. 50 min.) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2016 with a major in Performance.  Principal instrument:  bass.

 

Position:  IT (Information Technology) Recruiter at Pinnacle Group, Inc.  Pinnacle Group is a multinational staffing firm, which places candidates in higher-end jobs in IT, banking, and executive level positions.  James scours the internet to find and reach out to qualified candidates for the available positions.   When someone is interested he explains the position, polishes up their resume if needed, and passes it along.   Functionally this works like a sales job, where he is paid a combination of salary and commission (James earns money when someone he reached out to takes a position.), while working to meet a quota.  He averages several people placed in jobs each month.

Overview:  Finishing his degree in the summer of 2016, James wanted to stay in Boston, and he applied to “tons of jobs,” getting a job with a catering company as waitstaff.  However, by late 2016 he wasn’t enjoying it, nor was he getting ahead financially, so he moved home to Dallas, Texas, where he would be able to save money.   He arrived home and started applying for waitstaff jobs.

However, his sister’s husband was a manager at Pinnacle Group, and suggested that James try his hand at recruiting.  James gave it a shot.  The first two months were rough, and he was nervous he wouldn’t hit the required minimum quota to remain employed after month three, but then a work buddy took him aside and trained him better, and he made his 3-month quota in the last five weeks.  James continues to do well there and hopes to be promoted to the next level of recruiter later this year.

 

You can see James’s LinkedIn profile here.

 

Choice Quotes:  “Now that I’m in it, I enjoy the depth of technology, specifically development–you’re building a world! If you can understand it in a deeper sense you can find better candidates in my job, but the whole world is moving that way and it opens a lot of opportunities.

“I was hesitant to take 9-5 job at first, as that would mean means I won’t be able to gig as much. But the more I thought about it, I realized that I was considering 2 waitstaff jobs which would’ve give me much free time anyway, and at minimum at Pinnacle Group I’d be learning something new.”

Get your hands in everything and really get after whatever you get in. Give it 100% If you’re in catering, be the best one on the team. I’m still friends with my boss and you’ll never know where these connections will get you.”

“As a recruiter, it’s tempting to look at a positions and think of all the competition from other companies and recruiters and it seems hopeless that you’ll be the one to find someone. Don’t think about that!   Review the requirements, then look look and look. I’ve had times where I was about to pack up and leave, then looked for 30 more minutes and found the perfect person for the job.”

 

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Chantale Sterling

Listen to the interview (approx. 1 hr, 20 min) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2013 with a major in Professional Music.  Principal instrument:  voice.

 

Position:  “Partnerships Associate” (Online Advertising)  at Initiative, a large marketing agency that’s part of the IPG Group.   One of about 25 people doing this sort of role, Chantale oversees roughly $75,000,000 per year of digital advertising spending on behalf of various clients, mostly in the pharmaceutical industry.  Chantale formulates campaigns, estimates costs and effectiveness, and negotiates payment rates with online providers.

 

Overview:  After graduation, Chantale spent the summer working food-service jobs, then moved to New York City, unsure what she wanted to do–wanting to work in media/communications but not necessarily in music.  She applied to jobs and got an unpaid internship at a fashion company and a paying job at a fashion boutique to pay the bills.  She then got a succession of contract-jobs, with progressively more responsibility through a staffing agency:  working on CRM databases for a luxury goods company, as an admin. assistant for several hedge funds, and a marketing job at Macys, a billing coordinator with HUGE, an online marketing agency, then finally her current job in October 2016, which started out as another contract job but she was taken on permanently after just over 6 months.

 

You can see Chantale’s LinkedIn profile here.

 

Choice Quotes:  “Digital buying is advertising through different networks, and targeting the adversiting to reach your ideal customers.”

“I enjoy the strategic part of online advertising the most. I’d interact with applications like Instagram and the online news and see types of brand messaging for things I liked–I didn’t know a digital buyer and strategist were crafting the experience for me based on my online profile. I love partnering with vendors & publishers and learning about the cool things technology is letting brands do and take advantage of.”

“Learning and education, and discipline are what’s going to get you where you need to go. Read an article each day, interact with someone in your network each week–whatever that goal, set it and fulfill it. Never think that because something isn’t in music that it may not be worth learning about. It might open you to an industry you didn’t know existed such as how I discovered digital advertising.”

“Berklee taught me to move quickly along the learning curve–recognize what I don’t know, and figure out what tools do I need and how I get these tools.  This helps me in my career, which is all about understanding fundamentals and asking the necessary questions to figure out budget allocation, etc. ”

“It’s good to have a career in the digital space.  Digital is growing and it’s not going to stop growing.”

 

 

See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.

Zach Miller

 

Listen to the interview (approx. 1 hr, 6 min.) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2008 with a major in Music Business.  Principal instrument:  guitar.

 

Position:  Freelance Photographer.  Zach’s professional website shows many examples of his work.  As a freelancer, Zach works on a large variety of projects, but most of his work comes from business, particularly events and commercial real estate.  In addition to shooting photos, Zach does his own marketing as well as post-production.

 

Overview:  Zach enjoyed photography as a hobby while at Berklee.  After graduation, he was unable to find a job in the music industry, so he moved back to the DC area, and worked an administrative-job for his father’s construction company for money while he played drums with a local band.  By 2011, the band was tapering off, and a bandmate suggested he study photography since he liked it.  Zach went to the Art Institute of Washington (DC) and in one year of study earned a Diploma in Commercial Photography.

He continued to work that office-job while building his photography business on the side, getting a lot of work through Thumbtack, where clients post desired services and professionals bid to provide them.  He also built up his portfolio and started a photography blog. It took years, but in January 2017 Zach had enough business that he left the office job to be a full-time professional photographer.  He also plays drums for a new band, where he has fun gigging around the DC area, for for all of them it’s a side-thing.

 

You can see Zach’s LinkedIn profile here.

 

Choice Quotes:  “The camera has pushed me to step out being quiet and nervous. I’ve photographed celebrities, and as a photographer to me they’re just people. It’s fun to bring everyone down to earth.  I have to think about it, be creative, make someone comfortable–which has led to beautiful friendships & connections.”

“As a professional photographer, I spend very little time behind the camera. Most of my time is spent doing paperwork, putting in hours to send photos around, editing files, the whole 9 yards.”

“When I first shot photos I was like ‘I’m going to just shoot models!’ and yeah that sounds glamorous, but now I’m shooting commercial real estate and that’s bringing in a lot of money. You can’t let your head get into the way and have to listen to what is coming your way. Accept what’s working for you and keep pushing for that rather than what’s not.”

“I saw this at Berklee too: Everything is cool when it’s a hobby, but once there’s financial pressure applied, it brings some different thoughts– do I really want to do this? Anyone can shoot a photo and feel good about it. What happens when there are deadlines, when people don’t like a photo? Not everyone is going to like that. Test it out, see what your limits are. If you’re OK with the negatives, see where you can go.”

“Networking is so key; you can apply it to nearly every industry–especially the freelance world!  I got good at that in Berklee, where to be in a band or jam it was all about hanging out and getting to know people.”

 

See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.

Parker Ferguson

Listen to the interview (approx. 1 hr, 11 min.) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2008 with a major in Music Business.  Principal instrument:  guitar.

 

Position:  VP of Technology & Product (a.k.a. Chief Technology Officer or CTO) at Coindesk, an online media site focused on blockchain and crypto-currency technology (e.g. bitcoin).  Parker’s task is to build out the technology team; he currently supervises close to ten employees.  His tasks involve a lot of cross-functional collaborative work, such speaking with the CEO about where to put attention and resources, helping the development team implement features, and reviewing code.

Overview:  In high school, Parker did some coding for fun, and at Berklee he’d be the go-to person for tech-related issues.  He graduated and hoped to get a career in musical composition, but when months later the economy tanked he started doing low-level restaurant work for cash.  Meanwhile, he took over a friend’s lease and found himself living in a building of art-school dropouts who were all attempting to start careers in technology.  Over the next couple of years he started working as a freelance tech consultant, but saw it as a way to pay bills while he focused on music.  But by 2010 a musical partnership went sour and he had met and fallen in love and figured technology would be a better, surer path financially sustaining his future family.  Parker spent roughly 6 months working the minimum he could while teaching himself programming, using a wide variety of resourses such as Code Academy, Open courses at MIT, and relevant books, while he did projects.

By 2011 he was feeling competent, and first sought technical employment in the music industry “where my Berklee background would be a plus.” after a few years working as a web developer or product manager, Parker reached out to a recruiter to see what was out there, particularly in the field of crowd-funded investments.  That led to a job at Ace Portal, where he started as a developer and, due to expansion, was promoted to CTO only months later.  Sadly, that company failed financially, but he quickly got another job as V.P. of Engineering at Artfinder, then moved on to his current job in August, 2017.

 

You can see Parker’s LinkedIn profile here.

 

Choice Quotes:  “The challenges as CTO are really dynamic and vary between the strategic direction and tactical on how it’s done. I like collaborating with the team. How you navigate market conditions, structure business deals, collaborating with my team, learn from past decisions that weren’t as good, shift to new capabilities on a technical level, hire and keep talent. I like both figuring out what to build and collaborating to build it brick by brick. It’s great, creative work where you can get your fingerprints on a lot and you get to use your whole brain.”

“The Chief Technology Officer of a company totally needs to have come up through the ranks. Without that knowledge, the team wouldn’t respect you, and at worst you’d make all sorts of bad calls that would ruin the business. It’s extremely detail oriented and you need to know how things work.”

“A lot of folks I collaborate with in tech are from art school or former musicians. There’s a lot of overlap in the skill sets. You’re dealing with symbolic systems and you have to practice your instrument and get better and learn. On a human element, you listen to people, figure out how to harmonize, have a sense of play and curiosity. As an artist, you have a comparative advantage so long as the fundamentals are there.”

“Berklee’s motto is ‘To Be, not to Seem.’  Tech is like that.  You can’t fake it–be prepared to spent a lot of time just to get to where you have an opportunity to succeed. What differentiated me was I focused on software, and I focused on hacking the marketplace to figure out where I needed to be.”

“If you want to go into management, you have to have your soft skills nailed just as much as your hard skills. The lead developer isn’t always the best coder on the team. Figure out that role first, and that’ll open up other leadership opportunities.”

 

See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.

Will Larche

Listen to the interview (approx. 1 hr, 19 min.) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2008 from the Boston Conservatory, with a major in Musical Theater.

 

Position:  Software Engineer at Google (New York office).  Part of the Material Design team, Will’s “domain” is visual, text-based interfaces on apps.  Google is, of course, a large, well-known company with over 80,000 employees, the majority of those software engineers.

 

Overview:  Shortly after Will graduated, the Great Recession hit, and a lot of opportunities that had been there the year before were now gone.   Will worked a bit in theater, but had been struggling with depression and developed anxiety about auditions, so that in 2009 he decided on a different career path, playing piano and doing odd jobs to make ends meet.  In 2010 he was getting proper treatment for depression, and a friend asked Will to be a computer help technician as a short term job.  Will found parts of the job interesting enough to merit exploring a career as a network administrator, and planned to do a program at NYU’s School of Professional Studies.  It being the summer, no network administrator courses were offered, so he took a programming class (Intro. to C) and found he liked that even more!  The programming education there was Windows-based, while Will sensed that IPhone apps were the next big thing, so he got an internship through friend, bought a book, and taught himself all about that programming language (C-shell) and the IOS operating system.

Two years of moving from job to job in search of learning more and lots of self-study since that first class, Will had established himself as a software engineer and was earning well into the 6-figures freelancing.  He went to work for a startup, but the startup ran out of money in late 2015.  Meanwhile, Will had just interviewed with Google, which had reached out to him, as a way to keep in practice, but the unexpected job offer from them was fortuitously timed.  Will accepted the offer and started there, choosing to work on the Material Design team because he liked the people and found the subject matter really interesting.

 

You can see Will’s LinkedIn profile here.  Will encouraged people who want to get into programming to reach out to him.

 

Choice Quotes:  “We actors are capable, once we’ve learned how to manipulate our own human behavior, and to be smart and understand things on behalf of a character, to do that for ourselves.  I see software engineering as a successful role I have taken on for the past seven years.”

A lot of teams at Google are smaller than you think they are.  Google does that on purpose, to make everyone feel like they’re making a big impact. Rather than a giant machine you’re just a cog in, they make a tiny billion machines all working toward a common goal.”

“In the arts, you can work harder than everyone and get nowhere.  And vice-versa–I know someone who got into a Broadway show because, with zero training, he auditioned on a dare.  But in software the more hours I worked, the more pay I got, the more I could charge, the more interesting projects I can take on, the more choices I had on what to do.”

“Google is strict about 40-hour weeks. If you find yourself working more, your manager will meet with you. They consider us the best in the world and don’t want to lose anyone by having us to burn out from over-work. This is the first job I’ve really been happy at, not just knowing it’s good for me. A lot of that is not working 80-hour weeks like when I was working at start-ups.”

“There’s always a group of jobs that aren’t being filled fast enough. Search for that information online; ask recruiters what kinds of people they’re having trouble finding for good jobs. See if there’s a practical way into the field that doesn’t involve years of schooling.”

“Do not listen to people who tell you that you can’t be a software engineer unless you have a computer science degree.  Musical theater at BoCo is a harder program than any computer science degree.”

 

See the full index of successful Berklee/BoCo alumni