David Mickus, horn.
real estate law.
When you were 18, what were your career aspirations and how much (if at all) did those change by the time you finished university/grad school?
At 18, I wanted to become a high school band director, maybe moving to a college position at some point if it seemed appropriate. At the conclusion of my undergrad, I was still moving in that direction (I did finish my music degree with a music education focus), but I was disillusioned, knowing that I didn't really want to be in the schools, but feeling a responsibility to "follow through" because I had taken the classes and paid the tuition. During grad school, I made the decision to change careers, and though I would have loved to have finished my conducting degree, I couldn't justify the time and money going toward another year of study for something that wasn't going to be a career for me, especially while I was unemployed (I made this decision during the recession).
Over the course of your entire career to this point — but prior to the pandemic — how have you pivoted or changed career paths and why?
The answer to #1 begins the story. I knew during my student teaching that I loved performing and I loved working with music students, but I did not enjoy being a teacher within a school, if that makes sense. I stuck it out and took a middle school band job while going to grad school for conducting. I was miserable and severely depressed, and I could tell that I wasn't benefiting my students or giving them the kind of experience I had, that had helped me love music. I did not start a second school year there. I left teaching and withdrew from grad school. I was unemployed for a calendar year, as I continued to play gigs and work as a small group instructor with school bands in the area (I was stubborn and didn't want to take a service industry job, more out of anger at myself for being in the situation I was in than because I actually had anything against doing a service job). I enrolled in a paralegal certification course and began moving in that direction. I did eventually take a mind-numbing position in the mail room of one of the loan servicing centers for a large national bank. Finally, almost exactly a year after leaving teaching, I got my first law firm job. I worked for 5 years in real estate law, moving up the chain at a large firm and eventually managing a department of 4 other non-attorneys and 3 attorneys. I left that position to take a job with a settlement services company, managing national lien resolution programs connected with big mass tort and class action settlements. I worked there for a little over three years, then moved back into the real estate area of law, and I've been at a smaller real estate firm for the last three years, creating the firm's first in-house title department, doing title research for residential and commercial transactions, managing the title workflow within the firm, and coordinating outside contractor and vendor relationships. Through that entire time, I have continued to play gigs when I can, becoming more and less busy as time has allowed me to move higher/lower on people's call lists. I've also tried to maintain relationships in the local music education world to allow me to stay in the teaching sphere, only because I enjoy working with engaged high school students.
What were you doing at the start of this year (2020), prior to the pandemic?
At the start of this year, I had my day job, I was playing in a brass quintet with a residency at a local church, playing in a volunteer semi-professional wind orchestra, and playing separate gigs when able.
How has the pandemic changed your career path or goals moving forward?
I'll answer this as to my music pursuits, as the legal side hasn't changed. Being someone who doesn't rely on music for my living, I am worried for the potential for me to continue playing at a decent level. There are already "too many" horn players in my area for the gigs available, so not being on a professional orchestra's roster means that I don't occupy upper spaces on most call lists for almost anything. The number of gigs available to me has decreased steadily over the past four or five years simply due to full-time musicians taking those spots. Now that those musicians are in much more desperate need of whatever gigs they can get in order to pay their bills and maintain their livelihoods, I doubt I will get many opportunities for high-level performances, nor will I begrudge them the ability to make a living. I don't worry about myself financially because of this, but I do worry that I won't have an outlet to play difficult music or to play good music at a decent level of performance with a group because those spots just won't exist any longer for someone not playing all day. This makes me sad, but also gives me some motivation to connect in other areas of the music scene. I've made some contacts with more "commercial" wedding bands, party bands, and New Orleans-style brass bands, and maybe post-pandemic I'll be able to explore some of these areas. Regardless, I'm nervous. Music is something I've always said I can always do, even if it's not for a career, but I do wonder if I'll enjoy doing it if the two options are to do it full-time as a professional player dependent on it for income or to play with amateur ensembles that have a playing level far below where I'm used to performing.