At 34, Peter Schneider has worn lots of hats. Some fit, some didn't. The York student has already gone through several careers - screenwriting, film marketing - and now he's back at Osgoode Hall for a law degree.

The first time Schneider was a student he was at the University of British Columbia and had no idea that he would be trying out so many different career paths, he says.

Maybe it was a case of being interested in everything. "When I was an undergrad I took all of the intro-level courses because I couldn't pick a major," he says. "I decided to go into creative writing because there are no restrictions on your point of view."

He dabbled in business in a summer job, then heard about the Arts and Media Administration Program at York.

"I thought it was the perfect program combining arts and business. And it was an MBA- the big, sexy degree of the '80s," he says. Eventually he landed a job at Schulich itself. "I met a lot of high-level CEOs that way." His three years' experience gave him a foothold in the business world. Through a CEO contact he heard about the opening for a business affairs manager with CineNova Productions and thought he could use his arts and business talents there.

Within six years CineNova was so successful it moved from a spare-bedroom operation to a 10,000 square-foot office. It was at CineNova that he noticed people in similar positions in other companies were lawyers, and decided he needed a law degree.

His words of wisdom for others? "If you don't know something pretend with confidence; and, if you are able, don't be afraid to quit a job and move on."

Photo: Nadia Molinari