leverage your hobby while in grad school

It's important to have a life outside of school, and that life might consist of family, friends, and hobbies. Whether you engage in your hobbies for joy or for cash or for both, you can take some steps to leverage that hobby for some side hustle cash while in graduate school. 

If you're musically inclined, today's post is for you. Let's talk about leveraging your love of music.

practice

Doing something you love isn't a chore, so if you love music, find time to practice every single day. Some days may be a few minutes here or there. On other days you may let yourself get lost in your music. Use this practice time to try new sounds and styles and to hone your own abilities.

study

Spending the resources on music classes is another way to improve your craft. Many people who play music as a hobby have a music teacher. You may even meet others who share music as a passion, meeting new friends and even forming a band or jam group. 

If you truly want to leverage your music abilities into a cash gig, having the skills to offer is key. You have to stand out not only as professional but also you have to be good! Take the Nicole Row story for example. She put in the hours practicing, attended a musician institute course, and now plays back-up for huge stars. 

promote yourself

If you want to play locally or stand out to artists looking for session musicians, be sure to have a presence online. The first place to start is a professional social media page, separate from your personal one, where you can advertise yourself as a musician. Record some of your work and put on sites like Soundcloud and Youtube. Get people listening and you'll build a following before you know it.