5 Career Paths for Your Music Degree
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” Plato
If you know in your heart and soul that music is your calling, nothing can pull you away. As an educator, woodwind instrumentalist, and conductor, I know this firsthand to be true.
I remember being a senior in high school and telling my parents I was going to college to major in music. “Are you sure you want to major in that? Are you sure you don’t want to major in something like computers?” They asked nervously.
After telling them you can’t exactly major in computers - I reaffirmed that yes, I am absolutely positively sure that I want to major in music.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the tale of an older, supposedly wiser mentor advising a young musician to do something different with their lives. “Is there anything you love other than music? It’s going to be a hard life,” they say.
I’m here to tell you - that’s nonsense; plain and simple. You can make a very lucrative living as a musician - you just have to know how to hustle a little bit. So, today, I’d like to share 5 ways you can put that music degree to work for you.
Band Director. Also known as conductors, a Band Director leads orchestral and marching bands and is heavily involved in preparing music scores for their bands to rehearse. This is a flexible career choice as you have the option to work in many locations around the country, and even have the opportunity to travel for performances. Additionally, with the repetition required in band rehearsals, this path allows you to polish and progress your skill set to perfection. To take it a step further, you can also become a college professor. Ranging from a lecturer to an adjunct, to an associate/assistant professor, the enticing salary range of $80,000+ may require a specialized advance degree such as a Master’s of Music and beyond depending on the subject you’re teaching.
Private Lesson Teacher. The benefit to this path is you decide how much to charge. An hour-long lesson can range between $30-$60 and beyond. With the advance of technology and the rise of social media, you aren’t limited to teaching a lesson in your home, in real time. Offering prerecorded lessons or teaching via Skype or Facetime are among the many ways you can think outside of the box to maximize your influence (and income) on this path.
Studio Musician. Considered by many a highly stressful job due to the repetitions required to master a perfect recording, this was a personal ambition of mine as a young performance major. The benefit to being a successful, dependable studio musician are the referrals you’ll likely receive especially if you’re in a music hotspot like Los Angeles. Woodwind instrumentalist Dan Higgins is a household name to studio musicians with his impressive catalog spanning hit television shows like Alf, The Simpsons, and more.
Military Musician. If you want to fulfill your dream as a musician while reaping incredible healthcare and education benefits, potential enlistment and reenlistment bonuses, scholarship opportunities, retirement, and more - this may be the path for you. I joined the Marine Corps Music Program as a saxophonist and have enjoyed a steady upward trajectory since 2005. This experience has been invaluable to me.
Freelance Musician. Creating multiple streams of income for yourself as a musician is mission-critical to your success. Freelancing makes that possible. With an entrepreneurial mindset, some improvising, and a lot of patience, you can do a variety of different things as a freelance musician. Consider Adam Neely, Amy Nolte, and Jeff Schnieder - all wonderful musicians who thought outside the box and now have wildly successful careers as freelance musicians. Now that social media is readily available to everyone holding handheld computers we call smartphones, there are no excuses to NOT putting yourself out there and showing the world what you have to offer. Many don’t know that e-commerce titan Jeff Bezos got his start by selling books in his garage. If Jeff can start in his garage, you can start showing the world your extraordinary musical gifts on YouTube.
There you have it. 5 eclectic, profitable career paths for the expert musician you’ve worked hard to become. For over a dozen more ways to put that music degree to work, watch this video. For more tips, music education, and resources, subscribe to my YouTube channel.