Unconventional Career Path: Former Teacher Becomes Famous Singer in Japan

In a remarkable tale of career reinvention, 60-year-old Donna Burke has traded in her teaching shoes for stardom as a professional singer in Japan.

Burke, who was born and raised in Perth, Australia, embarked on an unconventional journey to follow her passion for singing and acting. Despite pursuing a teaching career, which she found unfulfilling, Burke left the profession in 1997 to focus on her True calling.

After attaining her education through the Australian government's subsidizing of teacher training colleges, Burke pursued a banking job for two years and one day, allowing her to retrain as a teacher while claiming free higher education. However, life had other plans for her.

In the 1980s, moving to Japan became an essential part of her new vision, but having a university degree was an essential requirement for obtaining certain visas. Without taking her parents' advice and following their dream of a stable teaching career, Burke might not have made it to Japan where she eventually found success as a singer.

From working up to six weddings per day in Tokyo, helping Japanese young people with conversation skills and then pursuing voice-overs in  computer games such as Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid – ultimately becoming the iconic Shinkansen train in Japan's bullet trains — Donna Burke took an inspiring road.