• Charlie Puth skipped classes in college—those 'hustle days' helped him land a record, he says

Charlie Puth may have studied at the world-renowned Berklee College of Music, but one of the best things he ever did for his career was cut class.

With aspirations of breaking into the music industry, Puth knew he wanted to get his music in front of record labels that could help launch his career. The only problem? He had a full schedule.

"I just thought to myself, 'Which teacher will care the least if I miss class?'" Puth told CNBC Make It. "And there was this one teacher who kind of always gave me a pass and was like, 'Just get the work in on time.'"

That's how Fridays became Puth's self-described "hustle days." Once a week, he'd board the Acela at Boston's Back Bay Station and make the nearly four-hour trip to New York City where he'd set about trying to land a meeting with a label.

"I would go to UMPG, smaller boutique publishing groups and Atlantic Records — which is ironically where I'm signed now — and I would just wait in the lobby," he said. "Sometimes I wouldn't even have an appointment. But I just started to kind of show up consistently."

"It's a small industry, so a friend of a friend would say 'Oh this kid's not awful, he's not going to waste your time. You may as well take a 15 minute meeting with him,'" he continued. "One of the guys I actually work with today at Atlantic Records. It's like a full circle moment."

The "See You Again" singer, who spoke to Make It while promoting BIC's 4-Color Ballpoint Pen campaign, said that going from office to office and not getting back to Boston until after midnight could be tiring, but it beat the alternative of flying out to the labels' Los Angeles offices and missing even more school.

By taking the train, he could pursue his career goals and keep up with his classes.

"I would write lyrics or do my homework on the Acela," he said. "Just like, 'I've gotta get this damn homework done so I can focus on real life stuff!'"

On top of that, he found it compelling to keep trying because nobody was slamming the door in his face.

"I never got an immediate 'Get the hell out of my office,'" he said. "It was always more of an, 'Okay, this is actually not bad.'"

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