Welcome to the Joust About Careers Podcast. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and I’m a career advisor and English teacher at Van Buren High School. I’ve seen too many people spend a lot of money and time working toward careers they don’t enjoy or that don’t help them achieve the purposes they have identified for their lives, and I want to make sure that doesn’t happen to anyone else, whether it’s a high schooler or someone approaching retirement. I hope that listening to these episodes will help you make better career decisions and lead to a fulfilling career journey.
Ep. 114 - Professor of Saxophone and Performer - Dr. J. Michael Weiss-Holmes
Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2000 VB graduate Dr. J. Michael Weiss-Holmes, who is a Professor of Saxophone and performer. In this episode, Michael shares how he developed the skills necessary to become both a performer and professor, why performers typically travel with their own instruments, how he doesn’t fall into the starving artist category, and much more. Whether you are interested in a career as a musician or professor or are still exploring your options, I hope that what Michael shares today will help all of you make better career decisions and have fulfilling career journeys. Enjoy the show!1:07 - A typical day for a professor of saxophone.2:30 - Performance and teaching are both a large part of Michael’s career as a musician.5:06 - Michael plays a variety of instruments and also sings.6:07 - Upon finishing high school, there were no plans to earn a doctorate degree.8:46 - Advice for those who want to go beyond a bachelor’s degree in the music industry.9:56 - Not all artists are starving, and there are many positions in the arts beyond teaching and performing.12:39 - Michael did spend some time working for music-related companies.14:46 - High school students can get involved with music associations before they graduate.16:55 - Traveling with a saxophone18:38 - The positives and challenges of a career as a saxophone professor and performer.22:44 - Many of Michael’s students have gone on to career success in the music industry.24:21 - What Michael knows now about careers that he wishes he had known when he was in high school.Questions?Connect with Michael on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/jmichaelholmes). Connect with Brian on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brian-bratt/).
Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2018 VB graduate Lydia Reineke, who is a Clinical Fellow Speech-Language Pathologist. In this episode, Lydia shares how she is in the career field she chose to pursue during her junior year of high school, why she decided to double-major in Speech and Hearing Science and Spanish and how she uses both of those majors today, why she decided to earn her master’s degree at Arizona State University, and much more. Whether you are interested in a career as a speech-language pathologist or are still exploring your options, I hope that what Lydia shares today will help all of you make better career decisions and have fulfilling career journeys. Enjoy the show!1:11 - A typical day for Lydia as a Speech-Language Pathologist and Clinical Fellow.3:07 - Speech-Language Pathologists work with people who have had life-altering events that affect the ability for a person to swallow food.5:06 - Lydia figured out she wanted to become an SLP during her junior year of high school.6:13 - Double-majoring in Speech and Hearing Science and Spanish.8:24 - Still able to finish school in four years even with two majors.10:13 - The value of being able to speak Spanish with students and patients.13:01 - Bilingual SLPs are a bit hard to find where Lydia works.14:01 - The decision to attend Arizona State University.16:19 - SLP offers a lot of flexibility as a career.17:42 - What Lydia loves (and tolerates) about being an SLP.21:30 - People need to make their careers work for them to live the lives they want to live.Questions?Connect with Lydia on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/lydia-reineke-m-s-ccc-slp-269551366/). Connect with Brian on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brian-bratt/).
Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2020 VB graduate Tyler Arbaugh, who is an outside sales representative and former Division I track & field athlete at the University of Oregon. In this episode, Tyler shares how his career path shifted from finance to sales, what it was like to be a student-athlete at the University of Oregon, how being a building science nerd helps him in his career, and much more. Whether you are interested in a career in sales or are still exploring your options, I hope that what Tyler shares today will help all of you make better career decisions and have fulfilling career journeys. Enjoy the show!1:13 - Every day is different for an outside sales representative - phone calls, visiting job sites, working on the computer, and more.2:39 - Tyler is based in an 84 Lumber store in Middlesboro, KY - some projects are over two hours away, and he occasionally has to travel back to Perrysburg, OH.4:00 - Tyler’s original career focus was finance.5:20 - Advice for college track athletes after competing for the University of Oregon.7:27 - Starting at Lowe’s as a Fulfillment Associate is what led to a sales career.8:42 - Training vs. Innate Ability (and competitiveness)9:18 - What people misunderstand about sales.10:51 - Sales skills are transferable to many other careers.11:44 - Even though he’s not in finance, Tyler still works with numbers a lot.12:59 - Is a degree necessary to be successful in sales?14:03 - Tyler had difficulty transferring credits from Oregon to the University of Findlay.14:43 - Effective communication, relationships, integrity, math, and a desire to learn are essential in sales.16:08 - Tyler describes himself as a “building science” nerd.17:21 - Living in Oregon and Tennessee18:49 - Don’t put yourself in a box when it comes to careers.Questions?Connect with Tyler on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/tyler-arbaugh/). Connect with Brian on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brian-bratt/).
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YouTube views
12,727
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Spotify
2.3 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 68 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
86
Social presence
0
YouTube
76
Engagement
49
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