Tim Lambesis is working on bettering his life following his release from prison. The As I Lay Dying singer is pursuing a Master’s degree in social work and revealed he’s already a certified addiction treatment counselor.

It’s been over five years since Lambesis was arrested for attempting to hire a hitman to kill his estranged wife. After being released on parole in late 2016, As I Lay Dying reformed this year, and received a mostly positive response from the metal community. The new song “My Own Grave” has been celebrated by fans, while many of As I Lay Dying’s European tour dates quickly sold out or were moved to larger venues due to high demand.

In a new Instagram post, Lambesis admits his reluctance to share anything about his personal life, but detailed his academic pursuits from his prison days to the present:

“I’m slowly getting comfortable sharing parts of my life, little by little,” Lambesis writes. “Taken at an end of the school year party last semester. I can’t believe it’s already a new school year! A lot of people have been asking what I’ve done with most of my time over the past 5+ years. School is one of many things. It’s hard for me to sit idle, so I took almost every class I could. I got a handful of undergraduate degrees in the process, but what interested me most were courses in addiction treatment. I ended up becoming a Certified Addiction Treatment Counselor and started working as a case manager for a year in the process of collecting field hours for my certification. Then in 2017 I began a Master of Social Work program. The smile you see here comes from a sense of relief after finishing the first year of the MSW!”

As I Lay Dying’s first U.S. tour in five years begins Nov. 2 in Phoenix, Ariz. Click here for the full list of gigs.

See As I Lay Dying in the 50 Best Metal Bands Who Released Their First Album in the 21st Century