Thomas O'Shea

In layperson terms, what do you actually do at work?

I like to say that I push buttons and dials to make sounds and push more buttons and dials to make those sounds sound good. I also write about my life and about stories that I think people would enjoy in song form.

What is the one piece of career advice you wish someone gave you when you were younger?

Use what you have. If you're waiting to get better equipment, you will wait an entire lifetime. New equipment doesn't mean better work. Start now- even if it's with a phone or old iPod. Create, write, learn as much as you can and add to your process as you go.

How did you pick your career? Did you know all along?

My high school choir teacher held a unit for "sampling" one of our pieces and I just never stopped producing and writing after that. Once I learned more about music theory and other important things for a career in music, I pretty much knew this was what I would do for my career.

What is the most useful piece of career advice you got as a student, and who gave it to you?

I don't remember exactly who said this but it was: " I don't know about you, but I'd rather be happy living in a studio apartment than miserable in a mansion."

When you were a student, did you do anything outside of school to build skills or get knowledge that has helped your career?

I'm currently I student. I study audio, but that's not the only thing I want to do. So instead of just doing school work and going home to play video games, I do school work, volunteer to work with fellow classmates on music projects, and reach out to artists on social media for collaborations and networking.

Did anyone ever oppose your career plans when you were young or push you in a direction you did not want to go?

Yes. I was almost convinced to go into science or math- my version of "well I have a good job but I'm sad" scenario. Even once I was a music major, I was still pushed into double majoring- thankfully I was able to get out of that.

What is the biggest challenge you had to overcome to get to where you are now professionally? How did you overcome it?

Fear. It's scary to put yourself out there- both in the professional sense where you're trying to get a job and a promotional sense where you're promoting what you made. Once I finish a song or something, I always do the next step of getting whatever I'm working on sent out so that I end up telling myself "well, you got this far- keep working." When the last thing is just hitting the send button, I did the hardest part just send it. And then if that doesn't work, I kinda do the push button throw phone tactic.