Careers

In our careers class, we were given the task to really sit down and think what we want to do in life. For me, I originally wanted to go on a cruise ship in a jazz trio, but after getting shot down by lots of different companies, the motivation has gone and I'm left wondering what to do.

Our tutor mentioned what's known as a 'Goldilocks Goal'. This is a series of 3 goals, one which is so massive it almost scares you, one that is achievable with a certain amount of work, and one that can easily be achieved. My Goldilocks Goals are:

1. Get signed, release an album and tour everywhere with my new band.

2. Cruise ship guitarist (Although the motivation for this has gone)

3. Play in a covers/tribute band 

The thought of being signed and touring everywhere doesn't exactly scare me, but I feel like it's a long long way away. It's more of a luck thing nowadays, although we have performed with bands that have recently been signed to a label.

As I mentioned earlier, I contacted a lot of cruise ship companies recently after I had the brainwave of wanting to do it. I was so hyped for it, thinking it would be ideal. Seeing the world and playing 2-3 hours of jazz a night? Getting paid and having next to no expenditures? Perfect! However, every company I contacted said they aren't hiring jazz bands anymore, because it's almost an outdated genre. It was kind of a kick in the teeth, seeing as I was set on doing it. But hey ho, life goes on.

Although I could pretty easily walk into a covers band, or a tribute band and make money to live on, it's not where I want to be. I want to express my life through my music, not stand and robotically express someone elses. It's more a case of weighing up whether I want the money. It feels like I'd be selling out almost, by doing something I wouldn't like to do. But I need to eat. So this seems like a viable option.

Speaking of how much I'd need to live, we were given the task of adding this all up. Say I spend £50 a week on food, that's a fair amount. I don't eat much anyway. Unfortunately, I gave into the temptation of smoking. So £3.50 a day, 7 days a week is nearly £25. That's not too bad, in all honestly. I was expecting worse than that when I got the calculator! Luckily for me, I have nice parents so I only pay £10 a week rent. So, in a month, that's £200 on food, £100 on cigarettes, and £40 on rent. £340 a month. 

I work in a pub for the majority of the week too, so that makes a fair amount of money for me. So in all honestly, I don't need to rely on music as much as I thought I would. I can get by working in the pub, but then I won't be doing what I love as a living. I could try and find a happy balance, but seeing as I only started working there 3 weeks ago, I don't want to tread on any toes. So until I'm settled with the bosses, it looks like pub work is for me.