Jessica Wilkins got her undergraduate degree in Oboe Performance from the Eastman School of Music and her Masters from the University of Michigan. In the midst of her studies she started a sheet music business, and after graduating built up a freelance career in the Los Angeles area. After discovering how much she enjoyed coding, Jessica then shifted to a new career and now works full time as a software developer. Throughout our interview you’ll hear about how Jessica pivoted a number of times during her journey, and how she has been able to incorporate her passions into her life and career.

JESSICA'S EPISODE RESOURCES:
Fav Composer: Debussy
Fav Piece of Classical Music: Saint-Saens Organ Symphony, met 2; Shostakovich 5; Strauss Oboe Concerto; Gordan Jacob
Movie Soundtrack: Hook
Book: Richard Brandon autobiography - is it this one? Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way; Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike; Bad Blood
Admired Musician: Ella Fitzgerald
Final Resource to check out: Evan Carmichael’s Top 10 Series

Audible Free Trial: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3VXwMWf 
Amazon Music Free Trial: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3W1Ttsr

CONNECT WITH JESSICA:
Twitter: @codesgirl1991
JDW Sheet Music
ORCHESTRATING YOUR CAREER 
YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaCPf5xynqMHcFuQhCWrNCQ⁠
Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/orchestratingyourcareer
Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/orchestratingyourcareer

ABOUT THE HOST
Rebekah Carpio received her BMus in clarinet performance from the Eastman School of Music. She was awarded a Fulbright grant to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in their Orchestral Artistry program, which was in collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra. She then went on to receive her PhD, also from the Guildhall School, researching the impact of education and community work in conservatoire training. 

CONNECT WITH REBEKAH
Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bitesbybekah 
Websites: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bitesbybekah.com⁠⁠⁠

TIMECODES
00:00 Start of Episode
00:46 Podcast Intro
01:21 Episode Intro
2:10 Start of Interview
2:45 Jessica’s Musical Background
5:54 Auditioning for ESM Regionally (not in person)
7:07 Applying to Undergrad Schools
8:12 Deciding to Go To Eastman
10:42 Arriving at ESM
14:11 Studying at ESM
15:57 Next Steps After Graduating
18:57 Career Thoughts During Masters
20:59 Starting Sheet music business
26:29 Masters experience and starting to freelance
30:35 Transitioning from Masters: moving to LA and starting a freelance career
34:58 Building up a freelance career in LA
39:37 Building up sheet music business
45:42 Breaking down the pieces of LA freelance career
48:26 Pivoting to Software Engineering
55:36 Parallels between music and software engineering
57:54 How music fits into life now
1:03:13 Rapid Fire Q&A
1:07:30 Getting started in Coding
1:11:01 Connect with Jessica
1:12:08 Final Piece of Advice
1:12:47 Episode Outro
1:14:01 “A Little Bit of April Fool” (Solo English Horn)

MUSIC IN THIS EPISODE
Theme Music composed by Ben Roundtree: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0z6dZJL6GM⁠ 
Jessica Wilkins “A Little Bit of April Fool” (Solo English Horn): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21XddmdthrQ 

PHOTO CREDIT
ESM
University of Michigan
Debussy
Ella Fitzgerald

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