I'm an engineer-turned-musician, so I went from making too much money to being poor. But at least now I like what I do.
So what does a full-time musician do, exactly? Well, in my case I play piano and sing, so I get hired out at various venues to play and sing. Bands that need a pianist will call me, churches that need a music leader call me - I actually pay the bills fairly well this way. I used to sing for an opera company but my heart wasn't in it, so I mostly do RnB/pop and Jazz.
"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arenas; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievements; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither defeat nor victory."- Theodore Roosevelt April 10, 1899
