Do you love music? Do you love music the way I do? Have you ever thought about making it your career?

When people imagine a career in music, they usually picture a performer onstage or a teacher in a classroom. Both are wonderful choices, but they are only the beginning. The music world needs creative people, technical people, businesspeople, and people who simply understand what music can mean in someone’s life.

In planning this article, I started thinking about all the musicians I know personally. Many are great artists, but they did not all follow the same path. Instead, they found careers that matched their talents. Some performed, some taught, some worked behind the scenes—and most did more than one specific “job”.

Music is a second career for me. Although I have been a musician since third grade and studied music in college, I went into business outside the music world shortly after college. The people in these stories “stayed the course” and made music their life’s work. Their careers demonstrate success in music has many different paths.

I met Gary when I was a junior in high school. He was ten years older than me and owned the tiny guitar store where I bought my first real guitar. I still own that guitar today—but that, my friends, is a story for another day!

Gary did not set out to spend his career working in a music store. He had a band and even a hit record. Maybe you’ve heard “Bend Me Shape Me,” which Gary wrote and recorded with his band, The American Breed. The song sold a million copies.

A few years later, Gary opened a recording studio and shifted his focus from performing to producing. I benefited firsthand from Gary’s musical genius when I was recording an album. He suggested using a Moog synthesizer and a Mellotron on two of our songs. Those two ideas completely changed the vibe of the music.

Gary went on to record and produce major acts, including REO Speedwagon, Styx, Slash, Survivor, and Liza Minnelli. His production work earned him two Grammy nominations, and he was inducted into the Illinois Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Not a bad career for someone who found his greatest success on the other side of the microphone!

Gary’s story is about reinvention. He had already experienced success as a performer, but he discovered another way to use his musical instincts. He knew how to listen to a song, hear what was missing, and help an artist create something better.

My friend Mike built his career in another part of the music world. Mike is an amazing guitarist and songwriter. He is one of those guys who can shred up and down the guitar with an explosive sound. Did I mention he is really good?

Mike has worked at shows featuring some of the biggest rock legends you would expect, including Ozzie, AC/DC, Journey, Nirvana, and the Allman Brothers. But Mike’s job wasn’t onstage. It was high above in the rafters.

For many years, Mike worked in lighting and sound. He probably had the best seat in the house, but he was not simply watching the show. He was helping create it. The audience may have come to see the performers, but Mike helped make sure they could see and hear those performers in the best ways possible.

It may not have been a career filled with fame and glory, but Mike’s love of music, technical knowledge, and understanding of all those cords, cables, and connections gave him a career he loved. His story reminds us that every great concert depends on talented people the audience may never see.

Then there is Scott, one of my oldest friends. I have known him since high school, when he was the drummer in my rock band. We played together until I went away to college, but Scott and the rest of the band kept playing together.

Like many working musicians, Scott did not rely on one source of income. He taught drums and performed with several bands. At age 70, he is still performing today. Unlike me, Scott made his entire livelihood with drumsticks in his hands.

To me, Scott represents someone who discovered his passion at a young age and never gave up. His career may not have followed the dramatic rise-to-stardom story we see in movies, but that does not make it less successful. He built a life around doing what he loved, year after year. There is something quite remarkable about that.

I met Richard when I was playing in my local orchestra. He recently retired from teaching music as well as conducting. I have always thought his story was especially interesting. Leading an orchestra can be an amazing and rewarding experience, but unless that orchestra is in a very large city, chances are one’s income may need to be supplemented.

Richard created a career that combined several musical talents. He conducted, taught in the classroom, gave private lessons, and became a published composer. Instead of depending on one job, he built a professional life from several related roles.

That kind of career is common in music. A performer may also teach. A teacher may compose. A conductor may give private lessons. It is not necessarily a compromise—it can be one of the advantages of a musical life. Every role uses a different part of your creativity and keeps the work interesting.

My friend Nina found yet another way to make music meaningful work. Nina is a beautiful singer-songwriter and, like me, had a first career outside music. Her current work is something you might not immediately think about.

Today, more seniors are living in assisted-living facilities and retirement communities than ever before. Music can play a critical role in these communities, particularly for people experiencing memory loss. Familiar songs may awaken emotions and memories that ordinary conversation can no longer reach.

Nina performs for seniors and leads sing-alongs. Her gift provides far more than entertainment. She is helping music make connections in brains that are struggling to remember. Songs from someone’s younger years can suddenly wake up a memory, inspire a smile, or encourage a person to sing along.

Nina’s story shows that music can also be an act of service. A musician does not need a stadium filled with people to make a powerful difference. Sometimes the most important audience is a small room of people who recognize a song they thought they had forgotten.

Of course, I also know many music teachers, choir directors, and band leaders. But there are countless other opportunities for people who want to stay close to music without becoming traditional performers or teachers.

Creative careers include songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing. Technical careers include recording engineering, live sound, lighting design, stage management, instrument repair, and piano tuning. The business side needs artist managers, booking agents, concert promoters, publicists, music publishers, and copyright specialists. Music is also used in film, television, theater, advertising, video games, churches, hospitals, and community programs. Newer opportunities continue to grow in digital production, streaming, podcasting, and online content.

The lesson in all these stories is simple: there is no single way to have a personally meaningful and successful career in music. The best opportunity may combine your love of music with another one of your strengths—technology, business, education, leadership, or service.

So, if you love music, look beyond the stage. Your ideal career may be behind the microphone, above the audience, in front of an orchestra, or sharing an old song with someone who needs to hear it. Music is bigger than any one job, and there may be a place in it that is exactly right for you!