After earning a B.A. from Vanderbilt University in history and an M.A. from the University of Florida in Latin American Studies, he taught high-school English, journalism, humanities, and film courses for six years in Jacksonville, FL. After getting a J.D. at the University of Florida, Tip worked as a staff attorney for courts in Jacksonville and Tallahassee. Retirement affords him time to read mostly fiction, including (but not limited to) LGBTQ classics and more recent works.