A Different Tune : Diane Trotter, 46, Inglewood

Bean counting. A dead-end job. If you tried to do something different, you were a troublemaker.

That’s how I felt about my job at Hughes Aircraft Co. In 1993, I requested a layoff because I had a job that was going nowhere.

With respect to my work, I was over-educated, overpaid and totally unchallenged. I had considered leaving the company many times, but ill health kept me chained to the job. When I started, I was grateful for the job, and the wages seemed so much higher than what I had earned in Arkansas. I used to live a mile from work, so sometimes at lunch I could even rush home and catch a half-hour of “All My Children.” Every time I looked for a different job, they wanted me to do exactly the same thing I was tired of doing for Hughes.

When Hughes offered the buyout in 1993, I grabbed it and moon-walked out the door. Now I teach music part time for the Los Angeles Unified School District. I’m also very busy composing music and trying to record and produce contemporary Christian music. I’m now building my own Internet site, Byfaith.com, to promote my music. I also plan to use it as an outlet to promote positive music performed by at-risk kids.