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I just learned that voice professor from my conservatory, the acclaimed tenor John McCollum, died at the age of 93. I attended one of his professional seminars as a freshman and remember his lesson to this day: "It is not the engagement, but the reengagement." Getting hired to play a gig is not that impressive; getting hired to come back is a sign that you know what you are doing. Many will give you a first chance; you have to prove yourself to get another chance. Many years later, I met professor Janet Nepke, who graduated from the same conservatory, who created a music industry program at State University College at Oneonta Music Department to teach musicians all the things she didn't learn at the conservatory about how to be a professional cellist. In music school you learn all about auditions, technique, repertory, pedagogy, theory, and history, but you didn't learn about how to get a job, interviews, copyright, marketing, finance and internships. She echoed McCullum, for all I know she heard the same seminar some time, and said that when she graduated, she had to learn all of this on her own in the professional world.I'm not a very good cellist, and soon switched my major over to music history/musicology which better suited my interests and strengths. I can say with confidence that as a freshman and sophomore I was hired to be a ringer at several local professional symphony orchestras and community orchestras. I was not good enough to be called back. As a work study job, I managed the youth symphony and the non-music major orchestra. I discovered there were high school students and electrical engineering majors who played better than me. It was humbling and also educational. I realized that I did not want to make my career as a professional cellist. I wanted to conduct.The horn professor at my conservatory had been a member of the Radio City Music Hall orchestra for many years. He loved to tell the story about how they had four shows a day between the featured movies (it used to be a movie theater with stage shows in between -- I remember the days). He said each musician had a hobby or craft to keep them occupied for two hours between each set. He made little leather gifts for all the Rockettes chorus girls. (Said with sly smile.)My cello professor was string department head, and had started playing with the Detroit Symphony when he was a cello student. As a tenured professor, he mainly performed with a faculty string quartet and gave some solo recitals.Another thing I learned from my peers at music school and other musician friends is that not all professional musicians love music. I went to music school because I loved making music. At school I overheard some excellent musicians complaining that they hated performing the standard repertoire. I asked why they were training for a career as a professional musician in a symphony orchestra. The sad, and sincere answer was, "I don't know how to do anything else." I realized I was lucky to have broad interests and skills in many areas other than playing cello. Cello playing could always give me pleasure and would never be a burden. I have mostly enjoyed playing with amateur groups and not worrying about making my living from music.Frankly, the hardest thing for me to do is to "turn off" the conservatory training when I listen to music. When one has trained one's ear and understand music theory, harmony and counterpoint, musical form, orchestration, etc., then it is hard to not continuously analyze any music one hears. That means that simple music, meaning a lot of the ambient music, pop music, one hears is maddening for me to listen to. And I am constantly judging the performances. It has taken years to be able to appreciate music in the background. I still cannot listen to music while I am doing anything that requires concentration. It does not relax me. In fact, I can't listen to music to relax either.I can only report what my professional musician friends tell me about their lives, and each story is different.Most professional musicians are not fortunate enough to get into elite ensembles that stay in residence for a full season, such as the New York Philharmonic or the Metropolitan Opera orchestra. Those musicians have busy lives rehearsing by day and performing by night, sometimes they are scheduled for recording sessions. Their lives are ruled by the schedule planners and the union negotiations. There are strict union rules about rehearsal times, breaks, and meals. Many of these musicians supplement their schedule by teaching as conservatory faculty and privately, many teach at summer programs or perform with other ensembles off season, some do commercial work or nourish limited solo careers or perform with chamber music ensembles. The rest of their time is spent rehearsing or commuting to see their families between rehearsal and performance. Professional musicians rarely spend time with their families on weekends or holidays, as this is often when the bulk of performances are scheduled to make it convenient for audiences.Another career path is primarily music department faculty and occasional performance with regional orchestras and churches.Another career path is studio musician and Broadway show pit orchestra and touring. This becomes a challenge when you are have a family, especially if you are a woman, unfortunately.Cellists with solo or chamber music careers necessarily spend a lot of time touring the country and the world. They often have faculty appointments at colleges or private schools and summer festivals..Many years ago, one of my cello teachers from the U.S., Frank Dodge, moved to Berlin to be first cellist in the symphony. He also organized a successful annual music festival there.In middle school I performed orchestral chamber music with a nearby high school ensemble led my faculty member Robert Rudie, concertmaster of the American Symphony Orchestra, who also appeared posing as Paganini in a program he created for special concerts.Most of my professional classical musician friends are freelancers and they piece together any gigs they can. Most have to take whatever they can locally, and also perform a lot for no pay. Why? Because even if you play solo or chamber music, you need to keep your skills up in the standard repertory for orchestra so when that audition comes, that call to sub, that dream job, you have the piece ready in your head and hands. My friend is a superb flutist who is definitely qualified to play with any major symphony orchestra and she goes to all the auditions, where she competes with hundreds of qualified candidates. A few years ago she went from non-music day job to one that utilizes some of her musical training: preparing and operating the stage titles at the Metropolitan Opera.That's why many of my friends play opera and operetta for little pay. Those paying jobs are even more scarce and there are some awesome passages in operas to perform for cellists and other musicians. It makes it worth it to them. It also offers opportunities to network with other musicians, prove oneself to contractors (see John McCullum's advice) and work with different conductors who may be interested in using them in the future. I have gotten gigs and recommendations a number of times through conductors who enjoyed working with me.The fact is most professional musicians in the U.S. and in NYC where I live and in Wisconsin, Chicago, Lake George New York, Los Angeles, and North Carolina, to name a few where I have professional musician friends, have day jobs and rehearse and perform at night, or they have flexible day jobs that allow them to take time off for auditions, daytime rehearsals or gigs, and longer for tours. They piece together a life so that they do not rely on one employer, or they are married to a non-musician who provides the stable income and health insurance plan. When they get a windfall from a steady job, they put down that downpayment on a home and mortgage. Their lives are a scheduling masterpiece of lessons, teaching, practice, gigs, rehearsals, marketing, promotion, tours, raising families, being spouses, dating, networking, etc.If you are a budding cellist looking to make a career of it, I recommend you read biographies and autobiographies of leading musicians, and to make contact with musicians living the careers that you imagine yourself leading.