About a month I found out that the way I organize my professional life and career has a name.
It’s called a Portfolio Career. A portfolio career is exactly what it sounds like – your career looks like a constantly changing, moving, and growing portfolio. It encompasses all the things you hear about musicians doing – writing, teaching, playing, touring, putting out albums, business meetings, website design, mixing, mastering, recording, bookings…ect. – each opportunity and experience adds to the breadth and depth of the portfolio. Pretty sweet, huh?
From the perspective of many people working traditional ‘jobs’ where they do the same thing, go to the same place and interact with mostly the same people every day, portfolio careers can look really messy and perhaps even stressful. But for the creative (one who creates) it’s exciting, exhilarating, fun, engaging, challenging, and always changing. Just like their art.
Yet rarely do we talk to our students about this kind of a career. Too often, I talk to students and ask them what they are planning after graduation. Standard responses range from: “I’m going to be a performer,” to “I’m going to work in publishing,” to “I have no idea and I’m really scared.” It’s the last one that I find brings the most sadness to my days. While it’s great that so many schools are integrating entrepreneurial and music business courses into their curriculums, they seem to be leaving out an essential part of the puzzle.
Many schools seem to not let students know that it’s totally OK, and even wonderful, to not do ONE thing when they get out of school. To help them figure out what their version of success looks like and how they might achieve their goals. To show them how the things they’re learning about in their courses can give them the tools they need to create a rewarding portfolio career.
In America, and I suspect in many other countries, this is almost completely antithetical to the accepted norm of success being completely linked to the amount of money in ones’ wallet and the amount of years at a ‘job’ and how high up the ‘ladder’ one is. But is this really the only measure of success?
I’ve worked a portfolio career for over 20 years. I’ve taught every age from two to eighty. I’ve booked and run two successful tours. I’ve given masterclasses and workshops. I’ve taught beginners and advanced students. I’ve released three records, with a fourth and fifth on the way. I’ve put myself through grad school – twice. I’ve sung backup vocals for famous people. I’ve helped people learn how to find the beauty in their voice. I’ve authored a chapter in a book. I’ve spoken at international conferences. I’ve never worked outside of music in the 20 years I’ve lived in NYC. Ever.
Yet by so many standards, I am not successful. How sad to have this view. How happy I do not.
Finding out that what you do has a ‘place’ in the world is extremely empowering. Let’s help our students know that having a portfolio career is a completely viable and wonderful way to move through life and that it isn’t a failure – it’s just a different way of viewing success.
As an educator in the USA, I would feel more comfortable advocating a “portfolio career” if our nation’s social safety net truly supported such individuals. One of the driving forces to have one source of full-time income, at least from my perspective, is the opportunity to have health coverage and some kind of benefits package.
As a full-time educator who is also a longtime freelance bass player, producer and composer, I would embrace my own portfolio career even more fully if I knew that my security in health care, and that of my family’s, were not tied to full-time employment as a teacher.
Part of the equation, in my opinion, is for us intensely creative types to also agitate for a comprehensive single payer health care system like other nations in the world enjoy.
Thank you for sharing this piece.
Andrew Pfaff
I agree wholeheartedly with what you’re saying, thank you for your response. I wanted to write this more of a piece to encourage educators to talk to their students about it being ok to have a life that doesn’t look like other people’s lives. I think we have a fairly strong stereotype in our country that if you don’t have certain acquisitions by the time you’ve reached the age of 35 then somehow you’re a failure at life. And I know a lot of people who don’t have those certain things or choose not to have them and they’re a) totally happy, and b) totally amazing at what they do and c) financially independent.
Sometimes, I feel that we encourage our students to do only ONE thing – performer, songwriter, music director, educator…ect – instead of encouraging them that to do more than one thing simultaneously or in succession is a totally viable and very rewarding career path. I would offer that you are one of the people that fits into a portfolio career. Sure, your teaching gig covers the big ‘things’ in life, but my guess is you play a lot of music, compose, music direct, lead, side-man…ect – and that’s what I’m talking about. To advocate for that being AMAZING. Instead of an and/or situation like so many people think it should be. As if you teaching somehow diminishes your bass playing and artistry in any way – which I would argue it does not. I don’t know ANY musician – no matter how big – who only plays music. Most do other things ‘on the side’ – producing, composing, music directing, backup singing, marketing…ect. Not even Taylor Swift. She’s gotta show up and do talk shows, be a spokesperson for products, run a multi-million dollar business – but because it’s all run through her being a mega-star, those things just fade into the background. I think that if we can encourage students to think differently about their own careers we’ll have a lot more happy musicians, a lot more music, and can even then make the changes you’re talking about. Great conversation!!!!
I agree completely, and I think that well-meaning educators and parents often fall into the trap of advocating a certain narrow path for the children in their care.
I happen to think that the lacking social safety net I mentioned feeds into the stereotype you identified — of “success” looking a certain way and coming with certain specific characteristics. My hope, and I think yours as well, is for this stereotype to be dismantled at the family, school, societal, and government levels. The narrow idea of “career path” and “success” needs to be replaced with a mindset that embraces many dimensions of our individual talents and aspirations. Further, the more our society and government can be transformed to embrace this for its people, the better.
I couldn’t have said it better. Thanks for all your insight!
YES! This is me, too!
Reminds me of this great TEDTalk: https://www.ted.com/talks/emilie_wapnick_why_some_of_us_don_t_have_one_true_calling
And this book: https://www.amazon.com/One-Person-Multiple-Careers-Success/dp/B001Q3M79M
Thanks!