Hobby --> Career

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sanfender

Member
Anyone here have a desk job of sorts and make a 180 degree shift to guitar and/or music as a profession?

To the extent guitar and/or music is one's passion, who here has course-corrected a battleship and made that passion a day job?

Seeking inspiration \m/
 
sanfender said:
To the extent guitar and/or music is one's passion, who here has course-corrected a battleship and made that passion a day job?
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Yes I have a desk job and work 8-5 M-F in IT full time. I would much rather be rocking out all day but it simply isn't realistic. What I told my bosses and upper management is the only threat they would have is a studio musician job willing to pay me $100K per year to fulfill my passions daily. Many just laughed at that comment because it isn't realistic and isn't really possible.

However, my dream job in all honesty: American Idol Band <- how freaking sweet would it be to play all sorts of music and be surrounded by absolutely incredible musicians. Forget the singers, that's the show. Just to jam and play that much music for your JOB, c'mon man. That's my dream job, no more desk, just my AFX and guitar(s).
 
Now that's cool. Total Clark Kent move right there!

My life is currently leading... somewhere. Not sure. I've been fortunate to work as a professional musician (mostly classical guitar) and instructor (colleges, my own studio, etc.) for the majority of my life since college. The other jobs I have had (and currently have) have been in insurance sales. I am NOT as a salesman. Not at all. I don't belong doing that. I think this time around, as it was over 6 years ago, this current desk job is just a transition.

I've actually been home recovering from an auto accident for a few months now (stuff just keeps popping up, but I have started playing a little again). So I've begun learning to write code. Worked through a lot of Codecademy, and recently joined Treehouse, Code School, and Lynda.com. I know a job in programming is a long, long way away, but I plan to take formal classes too. As for what to do for income in the meantime? Eh, not sure. All I know is that I am really enjoying this. I took PASCAL in high school, enjoyed it, but then music took over. I should have minored in music, but I just didn't have the direction and counsel I needed when I was 18.

Sadly, while I've been off work, I had two excellent teaching opportunities that I have since lost. So, it just means there is something else out there.

We all have to work. The best thing in the world is doing something good/useful/important, and if it's something you love, can learn to love, or at least tolerate, that really helps. That can mean different things for different people of course.
 
I came to the conclusion years ago that I wasn't good enough to be a pro musician - and I don't mean be a rock star!
We're all closet rock stars - but wife, kids, mortgage, car payments, etc. really put the lid on musical yearnings, especially with a non-working spouse. Still the 6-digit IT income offsets the pain, and I still get to gig regularly.
NOT about to do any 180's any time soon.
 
Got a degree in electrical engineering and worked as an engineer for several years. Put some recordings on the internet, and was contacted by a band in Las Vegas with a job offer. Quit my engineering job and moved there hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. Fifteen years later, I'm still playing with that same band as my sole source of income. I had a day job as a technical writer for six years while in the band (got married and had a kid), but I finally quit that job as well once I was divorced and my finances stabilized.

I won't have as much saved for retirement as I would have with my "real" jobs, but I'm enjoying life far more than I would have otherwise.

This wasn't planned. I just fell into it by serendipity.
 
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ibanezfreak4 said:
Yes I have a desk job and work 8-5 M-F in IT full time. I would much rather be rocking out all day but it simply isn't realistic. What I told my bosses and upper management is the only threat they would have is a studio musician job willing to pay me $100K per year to fulfill my passions daily. Many just laughed at that comment because it isn't realistic and isn't really possible.

However, my dream job in all honesty: American Idol Band <- how freaking sweet would it be to play all sorts of music and be surrounded by absolutely incredible musicians. Forget the singers, that's the show. Just to jam and play that much music for your JOB, c'mon man. That's my dream job, no more desk, just my AFX and guitar(s).
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truth. Justin Derrico is secretly the guitarist I'm most envious of. He's the band leader for "the voice," and is Pink's lead guitarist on the side (and I hear she's a cool cat to hang with).
...that or like Tonight Show Band or something along those lines. They look like they're having a good time all the time.

s0c9 said:
I came to the conclusion years ago that I wasn't good enough to be a pro musician - and I don't mean be a rock star!
We're all closet rock stars - but wife, kids, mortgage, car payments, etc. really put the lid on musical yearnings, especially with a non-working spouse. Still the 6-digit IT income offsets the pain, and I still get to gig regularly.
NOT about to do any 180's any time soon.
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There seems to be a lot of us in about the same boat in the DFW area. We should organize a jam one of these days.
 
Rotti said:
There seems to be a lot of us in about the same boat in the DFW area. We should organize a jam one of these days.
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I AGREE, everyone gets a 2 minute solo spot while the rest of us play the "Crossroads" riff (dant dent dant dent da nah da nah nah nah). Great idea ;)
 
I tried. I got into a musical relationship with an artist that had recorded an album decades ago and had relatives that were successful in the business, and we put out another one in which I acted as the recording engineer, arranger, and co-producer. I tried flogging that horse for 10 years, but it never went anywhere. I found that I liked to eat too much and couldn't really split from the day job, so it became like having two jobs with only one that pays the bills. I was kind of relieved when it ended, because I was facing an uncertain recovery from what turned out to be transverse myelitis and the associated lower extremity numbness and loss of function.

It takes a certain kind of person to deal with all the day to day BS and still find enough satisfaction to offset that from performing and creating. I am just not it. I still back shows for a local theater once a year when I am not acting there and play in church occasionally. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish that concept album that I have been working on every once and awhile before I can no longer play. That's enough for me.

These days I look at the successful bands, and I respect the effort that it takes for them to do it.
 
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Roland said:
I look forward to retiring, and changing my LinkedIn occupation to "Lead Guitarist with a rock band"
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I've worked full time and built a great career along with being the only guitarist in a rock band my whole life. You don't need to retire to do that man.
 
Similar here. I just like the thought of removing my sober suit and tie image, and putting up a Keef style photo
 
To be honest, I don't find that "rock star life" all that appealing.

I like having a regular 9 to 5 job. It keeps me from getting bored from playing guitar. Playing in a band is recreational for me, not a duty.
There are so many bad things that you have to deal with as soon as you try to be a professional player. Paying your bills isn't even the worst of that.

Sometimes, making your hobby a career can suck out the love for your hobby. And I'm not willing to give up on that yet.


I could imagine working on something tech-related to music, though.
Unfortunately, as an engineer for technical textiles and composite materials, chances for that are very limited. There's only a handful of guitar or music hardware manufacturers here in germany. And carbon composites haven't made it far into this tech sector yet. Maybe in several years.
 
The most likely scenario to be a musician for a living is to be in a wedding band that also does corporate gigs. Like a chef or real estate agent, you'll live a polar opposite schedule than the rest of society. When everyone else is off, you're on. If you add afternoon lessons, you can make 60k sans benefits, but of course being self employed means you owe both sides of the taxes, effectively adjusting you down to a net of someone making 50k, without health insurance.
 
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