This presentation, similar to #3a, was given in September, 2017 to multiple sections of the Career Development Seminar (LHUM-400). It features many direct quotes about what Berklee is doing well to prepare folks for careers outside of music, as well as advice which these folks have for current students. The presentation also summarizes data about careers and career paths.
Listen to the interview (approx. 35 min.) or download it.
Graduated in 2007 with majors in Music Business and Songwriting. Principal instrument: voice.
Position: Digital Content Marketing Manager at Subway. (The restaurant chain, she works at their corporate headquarters.) Andrea oversees the (domestic) general market and Hispanic market for social media marketing. She works with agencies that do creative work, and checks that content is being created correctly and is both legal and right for Subway’s brand.
Overview: Living in New York after finishing Berklee, Andrea tended bar, gigged, and book gigs. She had two other day jobs: working at a small company that put on events until it folded two years later, and working as a nanny for two more years until the family moved away. A friend suggested that Andrea join her working at the Victoria’s Secret corporate headquarters as a full-time production coordinator; Andrea interviewed and took the job, despite some discomfort about leaving music.
The first year was tough, but Andrea connected well as she carved out her own, much more creative, niche. She worked there for 4 more years, but in the last year her husband took a job in Connecticut and they moved out there. She found the very long commute unpleasant, so she started applying to jobs in Connecticut, hearing back from Subway, which was looking to hire their first social media marketing people, and wrote her back after several months. Andrea got her job there in the spring of 2016.
Choice Quotes: “I really love working with creative. There are are a lot of similarities with music. I love throwing idea out and seeing them come to live–there was nothing and now there’s something.”
“A former boss there told me to ‘find a hole in the company and fill it. That’s how you get recognized and move up.’ Get your foot in the door, once it’s in you’ll have the chance to make a name for yourself.”
This presentation, similar to #2, was given in September, 2017 to multiple Music Business classes. It features many direct quotes about what Berklee is doing well to prepare folks for careers outside of music, as well as advice which these folks have for current students. The presentation also summarizes data about careers and career paths, as well as noting differences between MB alumni (including double-majors) and non-MB alumni.
Listen to the interview (approx. 1 hr, 30 min.) or download it.
Graduated in 2014 with a major in Music Production & Engineering. Principal instrument: guitar.
Position: Broadcast Engineer at BAMTech Media, originally a subsidiary of Major League Baseball, BAMTech provides internet-based broadcast/streaming services to many clients, including at least one other sports league. Working the 4pm – midnight shift, when most games happen, Bills job involves making sure signals are flowing correctly both in and out and quickly troubleshooting/fixing anything that goes wrong.
Overview: During Bill’s last year at Berklee he as heavily involved with the BIRN, working as an engineer and having his own show. Bill was aware of how hard the studio world was, and wasn’t sure he was a good fit for it. After graduation he moved home to Westchester, PA and looked for an “alternate” music-ish job, either near home or in New York, where is girlfriend (now wife) was. The QVC shoppng channel was based near his home. He saw an ad online for a part-time broadcast engineer, applied and got the job.
The hours were unsteady; Bill tried to make a name for himself by improving their sound quality, but gradually came to the realization that it wasn’t a priority for QVC. He asked his boss when a full-time position would open up, and when his boss couldn’t give a positive reply, Bill started looking for new jobs and soon after moved to New York to be with his girlfriend while continuing his job search. BAMTech replied to an application he had send months before for a position working the night shift, they hired Bill despite his limited experience. Bill spent many free hours studying the equipment. Soon other folks on the night shift moved to other positions and he proved himself, resulting in a promotion to full-time engineer and being moved to the primary shift.
Choice Quotes: “What I like most about my job is the problem solving element and creative-but-linear thinking. That’s the same as when I was in MP&E. You have to think in that way when diagnosing and fixing a problem…or finding a creative work-around. There’s an excitement to doing that–especially in a live environment. I also really enjoy the people and corporate atmosphere: we’re very laid back when nothing’s going wrong, then all come together determined to fix something the moment it does.”
“Learning music helped me in that when your’e learning the rules, you learn to work within a complex system. Within the rules that it has, but also to expand on that and expand the rules without breaking the product. I have met engineers who will never reach their potential because they don’t have that process.”
“If you decide to pursue something, through yourself 100% into it. Then while doing it, every 6 months or so, think critically about your situation and be open with whoever is in charge. Meet with your manager as to what your career path is looking like and be willing to change your path. IF you do this, it’ll look like steps rather than meandering. You’ll make progress. You run into difficulties if you put on blinders and get stuck at a dead-end thing, or if you are constantly leaving things on the table because your’e feeling unsure
Listen to the interview (approx. 1 hr, 10 min.) or download it.
Graduated in 2008 with a major in Professional Music. Principal instrument: guitar.
Position: Software Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer at Ellevation Education. Ellevation Education sells software which helps teachers analyze and support the progress of students who are non-native English speakers, their typical customers being public school districts. Brandon makes sure the product works correctly before it goes to the customers, focusing on “front end” interface–in other words, he tests it as though he were an actual user.
Overview: Brandon went straight from Berklee to a 2-year Masters in Music in Sound Recording Technology at UMASS-Lowell. He taught lots of music lessons, and by the second year has applied for and got a job at a local Apple Store, working his way up from sales floor to doing tech support at their “Genius Bar.” He continued to work there the year after college, but a year after graduation he felt his career at Apple had hit a plateau and he didn’t like the erratic and evening hours, so he looked for a 9 – 5 job–ideally one involving music technology.
A friend worked for Nuance Communications, a voice recognition company, and that helped him get a job as a “Device Certification Specialist,” testing how well different microphones worked with the software. As he worked off the backlog, his boss let him learn more about software testing, and after a year and a half his title changed to QA Engineer, which came with a pay bump. Brandon worked there for another 4.5 years, until in October 2016 he got laid off. However, very soon a recruiter from Ellevation Education reached out to him, and he decided to take his current job because he liked doing new things and liked their corporate culture.
Choice Quotes: “I enjoy two things about QA. One is the problem-solving, puzzle aspect of it. The job doesn’t stop at finding a bug–there’s a lot of troubleshooting and figuring out how it works. The bigger thing is that at the end of the day I’m a customer advocate. I think about the users–teachers and people who taught me and will eventually teach my daughter and are doing work I respect. I help make sure the product is something they can use easily and get real benefit from.”
“Teaching guitar didn’t change much year to year; I like that the tech field is always changing. Of course, it take a certain mindset, to have the personality to always be learning.”
“Part of the reason I became a QA engineer is because I never said no when new opportunities arose.”
Being in the right atmosphere and with people you like makes all the difference. I don’t care how much you love what you do. If you don’t like the people you’re working with you won’t be happy.”
Listen to the interview (approx. 57 min.) or download it.
Graduated in 2011 with a major in Music Business. Principal instrument: voice.
Position: Case Manager at The Treehouse, a rehabilitation facility that helps people suffering from substance abuse and/or mental illness. As a case manager Rodney processes paperwork, guides clients through their orientation and lines up resources during and after their stay, but he also is an open door where people come with any issues.
Overview: Rodney finished Berklee and went straight into a 1-year Masters program in International Business from Hult University San Francisco campus. Graduating in the spring of 2012, he decided to move home to Houston, Texas where rents were lower and he could save money. Rodney also decided that he really wanted a career more related to helping people, so rather than work for a business consulting firm or an oil company, he used a family connection to get a job as an academic counselor at Houston Community College. The pay was modest, but the work was very satisfying. “People at HCC. Many people at HCC were the first person in their family to go to college, and often never thought they’d be in college. We got to push people to do things they never thought they could do.”
Rodney worked at HCC for 3 years, gigging on the side. Then in mid-2016 an good friend became director of operations at The Treehouse and encouraged Rodney to become a case manager, as Rodney’s job as an academic counselor was very relevant experience. Rodney visited the facility to make sure it was a good fit, but concluded that it was and took the job, where he has been since September, 2016. On the side, he has music gear all set up in his home and is working on an EP.
You can see Rodney’s (somewhat out-of-date) LinkedIn profile here.
Choice Quotes: “We talk to families, to therapists. It’s whatever they need. I’ts fun, because there’s a lot of clients telling us we saved their lives. Alumni come back and are staying sober and holding it together.”
“I’m the friendly face. I’m the door that never seems to shut. The therapist can only do so much; for everything else they knock on my door and I see to their needs. We officially have four meetings (one/week) with clients, but they come by nearly every day.”
“When I got to The Treehouse clients thought it was cool that I went to Berklee. I got to start an informal music therapy program there that meets twice/week, where we’ll talk about songs.. The group has gone from 6 clients to 40, and has changed people’s lives.”
“I have zero regrets about going to Berklee. I met the best people, had the best teachers, and had the best experiences of my life there. You take that with you and keep on rolling. That’s it.”
Listen to the interview (approx. 51 mn) or download it.
Graduated in 2010 with a major in Music Business. Principal instrument: guitar.
Position: Business Development (sales) at WorkforceQA. WorksforceQA provides drug and alcohol testing, as well as trainings on drug and alcohol-related issues, to businesses. Chris is one of only two sales people in a company of over 100. Chris splits his time roughly evenly between managing current accounts and seeking new business.
Overview: Chris did his final-semester internship with a music publisher in Nashville, and stayed in Nashville after graduation, hoping to become a professional songwriter. For four years he wrote music and performed it locally, but the income (and fame) from music was negligible and tending bar, while paying decently, felt like a dead-end job. So he moved back home to Salt Lake City, Utah in late 2013 while hoping to figure out the next step in his career. To make some money, his did some light construction work at his uncle’s drug-testing company for a few weeks, then was offered a sales role at a base salary of $10/hour. Hesitant to take the job, Chris accepted once it was made clear that his pay would increase once he had proved himself.
Through rugged determination Chris stuck it out in this low-paying job to the point where 6 months later, the other salespeople and their manager all had quit or been fired. With greater knowledge of the product, the whole country to seek business, and the newfound freedom to sell as he saw fit, Chris sales, and his income, improved dramatically.
Choice Quotes: “I enjoy the freedom in my job–where I can do what I think it best in order to earn the business and the excitement and satisfaction that comes along when I bring in a new client.”
I get paid, simply put, per drug test–a certain % the first year, a certain % the second year, then it stops. Clients can leave anytime, so I have an incentive to keep them happy.
Berklee was a great experience, but the fact that I’m in sales now is perfectly fine. It’s OK for something not to feel right anymore and what you lived at 18 or 20 changes
I’m happy about providing the promised service. I don’t embellish, so when it comes into fruition everyone is happy. I also get to meet with really cool companies and cool, sophisticated people.”
Chris as a Berklee student. “Creativity isn’t just limited to art or music. An education where creativity was supported and the environment was so creative has made me an employee who takes initiative and doesn’t just look for a manual.
Chris with colleagues. “My industry is totally a relationship sell. The reason I’m good at it is that I’m good at connecting with someone and earning their trust. That’s how you climb the ladder in sales.”
Listen to the interview (approx. 50 min.) or download it.
Graduated in 2016 with a major in Electronic Production & Design. Principal Instrument: guitar.
Position: “Customer Operations Adviser’ (Customer Service/Support) at SquareSpace, a company with over 500 employees (roughly half in customer operations!) which serves as a do-it-yourself website and blogging platform. “We handle everything from billing issues to helping people design their websites.” Alexander helps people via live chat and email, but during parts of the day he’s also learning to code.
Overview: Two years into Berklee Alex left for a year to do music full-time in New York, but decided he wanted to get more into the business end and got involved with Berklee’s Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship (ICE). For two years he and a partner worked on starting a new tech-based music business, hiring people to write code. However, after graduation Alexander wanted to move to New York to be with his girlfriend, and the prospects for the start-up were tenuous, so they wrapped it up.
A couple of weeks after graduation, Alexander was at a party in New York, and he bumped into an engineer who had done a project for his startup the year before. The engineer was working at SquareSpace, and suggested that Alexander work there as well, in the entry-level position of customer operations. Alexander applied, and four interviews (one with a robot!) later, got his current job.
You can see Alexander’s LinkedIn profile here. Alex also invites folks to email him at Alexander [at] bercow [dot] com.
Choice Quotes: “I’m on a wonderful team with great people. Like with a band, everyone does their thing. It’s also fun to chat and connect with people, help them out. What drove me into tech, other than being from Silicon Valley, is I love innovation and progress. I always appreciated innovative music and that love carries over to what Squarespace does.”
“Customer service is a good entry-level thing that can lead to something else. I have a lot of ambitions in tech besides just customer service, which is why I’m learning to code. One great thing about my company is there’s a lot of opportunity to grow and develop professionally–I didn’t want to leave music unless my job offered a really good career path.”
“One thing I didn’t like about music was the instability. It’s nice to get a paycheck every couple of weeks. My job has good pay for a first job out of college, and the benefits are excellent, including flexible paid time off and a company lounge with free alcohol after 6!”
“Berklee taught me is learning how to be collaborative. Being in a band you have to learn to work together and be a team player–that and being able to communicate in a team–how to take criticism and guide others productively. ”
Actions really do speak louder than words. You want to work with people who act on stuff—and be that person! I didn’t know if my start-up would work out–and it didn’t–but it led to great stuff. A friend recently said he really wanted to make candles, and I was like, ‘Do it! Make a candle. You’ll learn things, and maybe it’ll ultimately turn into something that can support you.'”
Listen to the interview (approx. 1 hr, 7 min.) or download it.
Graduated in 2014 with a major in Music Business. Principal Instrument: guitar.
Position: Technical Consultant at The Amaral Group. The Amaral Group, a high-tech consulting firm based in Boston, sends Josh and others to businesses (and occasionally schools or governments) to deal with their computer needs, from setting up new systems to fixing things when they break. Josh spends half his time onsite with customers and most of the rest at home researching technical solutions to problems.
Overview: Josh always loved technology, from being an amateur hacker in high school to spending lots of time in studios while a Berklee student. (Josh had wanted to study MP&E at Berklee, but that’s another story.) After graduation he worked at Guitar center, teaching guitar, Pro-Tools, and putting together a program on being a DJ, but within months he realized he wanted to work in tech, so he bought books and spent time self-educating on web development, IT infrastructure, database administration, etc. Late in 2014 friends of his band mates who worked at InMusic put in the good word and he got a job there doing Quality Assurance. Sadly, there wasn’t much opportunity to advance his knowledge, and it ended in early 2016 when the company moved its entire development to another state.
Unemployed for several months, Josh continued to study computers while making some money with freelance web development and some music gigs. One of these was working as audio tech for the album recording by local band Unstraight, featuring Katie Amaral. Katie was very impressed with Josh’s work, and when she learned that he was looking for a tech job, referred him to her father, president of the Amaral Group. Josh was hired in June 2016 as a part-time employee. As his skills and competencies grew so did his hours until, by the spring 2017, it had turned into a full-time job.
(Sadly, Josh does not have a LinkedIn page at the moment, but he still does music on the side. Here’s his DJ page.)
Choice Quotes: “Part of the consulting game: like a good chess player, think 5 steps ahead and put things in a way that it won’t break later. Also document what you do well and don’t ‘create fires’ of your own.”
“It’s crazy–we techies all deserve multiple titles–I’m a go-to network engineer, security consultant, CISCO firewall pro, windows infrastructure, LINUX system admin. We at the Amaral Group each have our areas of expertise, but everyone has a foot in at least two places and we all cross-train. When it’s a slow week it’s expected that you’re learning new things and growing in another direction so that you can take on new projects should someone get overbooked.”
“People ask how I went from music to technical problem solving. I reply that I haven’t really changed at all–it’s just a different medium and it’s one day at a time. The draw for me is finding a creative solution to a technical issue, which is what’s done in a recording studio, and is exactly what we do here! We’re coming in right at the intersection of creative problem solving with technical skills at companies that all rely on machines.”
“Don’t limit your opportunities just because you feel you should be in music. The world is full of really interesting problems to solve. Regardless of your education, if you want to get out there and be part of solving them–really within any industry–it’s well within reach.”
“Early on in my job I’d go too far and try to solve problems I saw, but the golden rule of consulting is ‘If you touch it you own it.’ If I’d try to fix something and now stuff didn’t work guess whose fault it is…and guess who gets to spend as many hours as it takes–unpaid –fixing it!”
“If you want to be a technical consultant, prepare to lose sleep. Prepare for someone to set you down and go ‘OK there’s a certification in network engineering. It takes most folks 3-5 years. You have 6 months. On, and here are a few more certifications to get as well. And during this time you’ll be working with clients and there’s no HR bubble between then and you, so keep smiling.” You’ll only make it if you really want it and you think it’s cool, so embrace your inner nerd as hard as you can!”
Listen to the interview (approx. 1 hr, 12 min.) or download it.
Graduated in 2008 with a major in Songwriting. Principal instrument: drums.
Position: Account executive at Spot Hero. Spot Hero is an app like Fandango or hotels dot com, except it works with parking garages–with the app, consumers can pre-purchase parking as well as find good deals and accurate directions. While Spot Hero is based on Chicago; Chris is currently the one person representing the company in the San Francisco Bay area. Chris’s job is “70% account management (keeping things working smoothly with current clients), 20% new sales, and 10% other administrative tasks.”
Overview: While at Berklee, Chris worked restaurant jobs for extra money, and had a band. Graduating, in the spring of 2008, Chris was tired of restaurant jobs, so that when a Berklee friend and roommate who worked for Zipcar as a “brand ambassador” suggested that Chris work the same job at Zipcar, Chris took advantage of the opportunity, as it offered better pay and a more pleasant work atmosphere. Chris stayed with Zipcar nearly 8 years, working his way up to marketing coordinator, then account manager, and finally account executive (a similar position to what he has now). This included a move from Boston to San Francisco in early 2015 where he was able to do the same work–by now the band had fizzled out and Chris wanted a change.
In the spring of 2016, Spothero was looking for someone to be based in the Bay Area full-time, while Chris was feeling like his career at Zipcar had hit a plateau andready for new challenges. When Spothero’s head of sales reached out to him about the opportunity he responded positively. Several interviews later to make sure it was a good fit for everyone, Chris took his current job.
Choice Quotes: “It’s a very unique position that I have. ‘ Tech is very new to the parking industry, so there’s a lot of relationship building, a lot of trust. Parking lot operators are nervous that we’ll be like Uber to the taxi industry, so there’s a lot of hanging out, drinking beers, making sure we’re on the same page.”
“I love how we’re talking an industry and making it more efficient, seamless, moders. Now people won’t have to cruise around looking for parking, which will reduce traffic and pollution. I love that our product gives consumer confidence that they’ have a spot and are getting the price and location they want–like when buying something on Amazon. I enjoy the relationship with our operations. A lot of them are really appreciative the way we’re modernizing the industry and making it just a bit cooler.A lot of these people are my friends now.”
“Spot Hero’s corporate team/culture is incredible–driven, intelligent, kind. Ther’es not one person I wouldn’t go to war with–or have a beer with! All those relationsihp and support make me really enjoy the job. Though I do look forward to getting another person on my team and hopefully not having to work 60 hours/week.”
“Having Berklee on my resume was very impressive to Zipcar’s marketing team. They knew I was a hard worker due to all that practice, but also that I was creative, laid back, and a good teammate from all the working with bands which we all do.”
“I became more optimistic about my music after becoming financially stable. With a good day job, I had the $ to buy the gear i wanted, and to go into a professional studio if I wanted to. That job opened up more opportunities, and it also reduced anxiety, which can get in the way of the creative process.”
“I got to where I am professionally by starting at ground zero as a brand ambassador at Zipcar. That introduced me to corporate clients and my knowledge of the consumer sector was great preparation. By starting at the bottom I really knew all about the company and felt really empowered–better than 95% of acct. executives because I really knew the company & product.
