The major record labels have laid off more than 5,000 employees since CD sales began plunging in 2000 — and that’s not counting all the people who ran screaming from the music business on their own. All asked themselves the same question: Now what? “When you’ve spent 20 years in the music business, you don’t have that many real-life skills,” says Debbie Southwood-Smith, a laid-off Interscope Records A&R executive. The answer: teacher, nurse, financial consultant, door captain, stay-at-home parent, realtor, manager of a skateboard star, car dealer. Click below for profiles on 10 rock and roll refugees.

• Rock and Roll Refugees: 10 People Who Escaped the Music Industry

[Photo: Nilina Mason-Campbell for RollingStone.com]