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Latest reply from Cameron Mizell

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After School.

Posted 2 years ago by Andree-Ann

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Andree-Ann said 2 years ago

Hey all,

I was just wondering what kind of work most of you guys have jumped on once you graduated, for those who did. For us young people, going from the comfortable status of student to getting an "official" status of musician can seem kinda scary. For those who experienced the after graduation scenario, how did you get work? What kind of work did you tried for? Did you stay in the same area or pulled off a move in a new city? Basically; what happened once you graduated?

thanks for replying!

Andree-Ann
http://www.myspace.com/andreeanndeschenes
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David J. Hahn said 2 years ago

I moved back home with my parents and worked a desk job for the first year out of college. I was playing in bands on nights and weekends and burning the candle at both ends.

I hated sitting in an office all day, and I knew I was good enough (and had the training to be a full-time musician), so I tried to find a full-time music job that could get me started. A few months later I auditioned and got a gig playing keyboards on a cruise ship. I've been working full-time in music ever since.

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Cameron Mizell said 2 years ago

After school I stayed in the college town for another year, working odd jobs and gigging. It was a big fish/small pond scenario. Then I moved to NYC without any job prospects or gigs lined up... all excuses to not make the move, but is there really any time that kind of move is easy?

In NYC I worked a few jobs that had nothing to do with music, hated them, and then landed a job at a record label (kind of by luck, there's a whole article on this site about that experience).

While working any kind of day job, I found it really difficult to be a real musician. Ever since I quit and started doing music full time I've definitely been able to get a lot more done. It takes a while to get some decent, steady income flowing, but you'll have a better shot at creating that income if you're not working a 9-5 during the week.

Good luck!

Guitarist & Composer
http://cameronmizell.com