Second career for a musician?

Once, I was having an audition for the orchestra in Belgium. When I got into the warm up room I felt as if I my head was going to explode – there were around 80 violinists warming up at the same time. And there was only one spot in the orchestra for the lucky one. I didn’t make it to the final. Later, while I was walking down the corridor thinking about what didn’t work in my audition, I ran into a guy who, as I discovered later, was a former member of the orchestra. As we walked throw the city of Antverpen, he told me the story about his friend who was an oboist. His friend was a very good musician and like most of us, was trying to get a job at the orchestra. He auditioned many times but wasn’t able to make it, mainly because of unfairness of the judges because lots of times knowing certain people is important in order to get a job in the orchestra. So, after trying hard for a long time without any results, he gave up. He went to University and got a degree and now works as a lawyer.
Do you ever feel like you don’t get what you deserve because judges were not fair to you? A lot of musicians have to switch careers or work part-time jobs to sustain an income – is that something you are ready to do for the rest of your life? Have you ever thought about what would happen if you weren’t able to perform due to an injury? Do you have a backup plan?