How a Career in Finance Paved the Way to My Dream Job

Early on in my career, I realized that sometimes making a change--and taking a risk--can lead to your dream job. One industry can often pave the way for success in another, which is what happened to me when I navigated my way from finance to the music industry with many chapters on the way. As an Executive Producer at Groove Guild, I am able to use my passion for creativity and diverse professional background to produce music for top global advertising campaigns.

As a child, I was inspired by my mother’s career and her strong work ethic. I always had a love for numbers and a knack for organization, which led me to study accounting and management information systems in college. I was very career-focused as a child and enjoyed algebra, logic, and statistics. I knew my love for numbers would serve me well in any career given that the foundation of any business is money, which inherently operates with numbers. After college I worked at J.P. Morgan, where I learned how to analyze business operations to improve their financial reporting and processes.  This required me to get up to speed quickly, and helped me to become comfortable navigating new waters.

While life in finance was certainly challenging, and in some ways quite lucrative, it ultimately felt a bit lacking in the kind of substance I was looking for in a career. When I had that itch for a change, I worked through a connection of my sister’s to get my feet wet in the commercial real estate space. Operating in a commission-based environment was not easy, but I was able to draw from my experience in finance to become successful while still learning the ropes of an entirely different industry. During my time in real estate, I navigated partnerships, deals and cash flow. The overall skill set I had developed at J.P. Morgan served as an ideal foundation for the fast-paced and high stakes environment of commercial real estate in New York City. Although I excelled at both of these operational roles, I quickly realized I wanted a more creative environment.

After taking a professional hiatus to spend precious time with my newborn son, a kismet conversation with a friend who worked as a production manager in commercials made me realize the skill sets I had developed in corporate America could serve as vital budget tracking skills in film production. Once I had some on set experience, I was eager to really put myself into the action. To really get my hands dirty as an active participant in the production process, I made the transition to line producing, where my responsibilities managing the overall budget and operations of a shoot included hiring and paying crew, monitoring the budget, and keeping everyone informed. 

Managing a different process and schedule, the skills I developed in production laid the groundwork to shift to a more strategic lens as an Executive Producer. Rather than overseeing the day-to-day, I am charged with bringing a more holistic process and strategy to both the projects we work on and the business as a whole. I love working with creative people on a team and bringing structure to them.

Now I am responsible for managing conversations with clients regarding budget, resourcing, and scheduling and uniting that framework with the fantastic creative process of the team of composers, sound designers, artists, and producers at Groove Guild. While my path to finding a successful and--more importantly--fulfilling career in the music industry was far from linear, my experience in finance and real estate helped me earn valuable skills that have been powerful in finding and excelling in the creative occupation of my dreams.