Serious Life Question

[Stumbo]

I am 17. Recently, I informed my mom that I had never planned on going to college...

I was thinking about your statement and found it curious that you're just now telling your mom about your plans. I guess you don't talk much to her about stuff. Deciding this on your own with limited information is probably not the best road to take.

Also, do you think you'll be living with her and having her support you while you get a McDonald's job to bring in some cash while you become a musician? Will she keep you on her health insurance? How much rent will you pay? etc. If you live on your own, how many hours a week will you have to work to pay the bills? Will you even have time to work on your music? Do you think you'll want to get married and have children some day? etc., etc.

If you go to college, there's no law that says you have to finish in 4 years. How about 5 years? Take less classes, play your gigs and have fun with both music and school. Start at the Community College and go from there. You'll probably have her support in doing that.

Most people change their major several times before graduating. Try different classes. Look into everything. Employment outlook. Salary levels. Maybe even take an aptitude test to discover how what you know and are naturally good at relates to college majors and different skills.

...I could never understand the idea of college because I do well in school but I hate it.

IMO, that's something you should have been talking to your mom about or a counselor. Why is it you feel that way? Hate is a very strong feeling to have about school work. Whatever path you take in your life, studying in one form or another will be part of it.

 

[Lady Kayri]

Don't think that being a music/rock star is incompatible with getting an education. Look at Queen - all four of those guys got degrees before Queen started to make real money. (Freddie had a degree in art/design of some sort, Roger in biology, John the equivilent of a Masters in electronics, and Brian a masters plus in astrophysics (he recently finished off his PhD, too). Music is one thing you could major in, others might be business (focussing on entertainment management), accounting (how can you tell if your manager or accountant is stealing you blind if you don't know what all those numbers in the account books mean?) or perhaps you'll find another subject you enjoy, that has no application to music. On the other hand, there's always working on training as a plumber or electrician - good thing with those fields is there's no way to outsource a plumbing job to India or China, and they make decent money,too.

 

[Jim Campbell]

I was thinking about your statement and found it curious that you're just now telling your mom about your plans. I guess you don't talk much to her about stuff. Deciding this on your own with limited information is probably not the best road to take.

Also, do you think you'll be living with her and having her support you while you get a McDonald's job to bring in some cash while you become a musician? Will she keep you on her health insurance? How much rent will you pay? etc. If you live on your own, how many hours a week will you have to work to pay the bills? Will you even have time to work on your music? Do you think you'll want to get married and have children some day? etc., etc.

If you go to college, there's no law that says you have to finish in 4 years. How about 5 years? Take less classes, play your gigs and have fun with both music and school. Start at the Community College and go from there. You'll probably have her support in doing that.

Most people change their major several times before graduating. Try different classes. Look into everything. Employment outlook. Salary levels. Maybe even take an aptitude test to discover how what you know and are naturally good at relates to college majors and different skills.



IMO, that's something you should have been talking to your mom about or a counselor. Why is it you feel that way? Hate is a very strong feeling to have about school work. Whatever path you take in your life, studying in one form or another will be part of it.

working at some mcjob when you are forty and trying to pay a mortgage is way less fun than than it is at 17......if academics don't thrill you maybe a technical education would work........or a trade.......but the number of folks that are successful in the music biz is minuscule and shrinking daily......your mom is right

 

[majortoby]

Usually when I hear somebody say "I'm not afraid of being poor," it's someone who has never been poor, and doesn't even know what it means. Have you ever gone a day in your life without eating because you had no money to buy food? How about living for a week on a pot of beans that you cooked yourself, because that was all you could afford to buy? Being poor sucks. Being hungry sucks. Taking the bus everywhere because you can't afford to drive sucks.

+1 Trust me, this guy is telling the truth. I'm only 20, and not very mature. So take it from a peer of yours. Being poor is misery. Have you ever had to work 20+ hours on only one meal? Have you ever had hunger so overwhelming you vomit when you first wake up? Few feelings suck worse than looking at your paycheck and seeing that you have literally $8 left over from expenses to live on. Do yourself a serious favor man, stay home. Find a part time job if you must. If school isn't your thing, try a music-related trade. Whatever you do, don't mess up education. Once you leave High School, your failures are NOT forgiven. I have a bad gpa because I did poor a couple years ago. Guess what? I cant get aid now that I want to go back, because of my gpa. I need a better job to afford school, but cannot find a better job due to educational constraints. I've dug myself into a deep hole with steep sides. Do not do the same. You WILL one day, deeply regret it.

 

[LCW]

School is key.

I am 19 and got four terms of college under my belt. I still plan on trying to make it in music but a 4 year degree will be a nice fall back.

Yes being broke sucks so bad. I have to ride the bus to school , wait in the rain i live in oregon haha. Its summer and 90 degrees out but next week i will be waiting in that sun to get to school. Oh and walking to work everyday is thrilling. Eating top ramen gets old.

At least get a 2 year degree in criminal justice or something.

BTW duff mckagan got his four year degree in business even tho he is a millionaire and was like 40, there is alot to be said about things like that.

 

[totallyfrozen]

Here's a nutty idea!
Join the military AS A MUSICIAN and play in a military band.

WAIT! HERE ME OUT.

All the branches of the military have a band. They are NOT just simply parade marching bands. One of the most talented and professional groups I've ever heard is the Air Force Band of the Pacific. They study music at the college level, play pretty much everything (from big band jazz to rock, etc.) and they GET PAID to do it.
Being a musician in the military is a CAKE ride. It's not about getting in fire fights on a battle field; it's about playing gigs for all sorts of occasions, seriously! Any event or graduation or holiday that I've seen around here has included a band from the Air Force. Their musicians are top notch! In fact, the Judds (Country group) came up here last summer and I took my wife (she's a Country music fan) and one of the Air Force bands played as the opening band. I thought it was Terrence Trent D'Arby until I peered through the crowd and got a peek of the stage. They really rocked the place!
The reason I bring it up is that I was in the military so I thought about it--you get paid, you get your necessities provided for you (housing, medical, etc.) and you get paid to be trained. They send you to school and pay you for it. Once your enlistment's done, you're free to go. You can probably earn a degree in Music while in the military and if not, you'll at least get the money to do it later.

Beyond any doubt, some of the BEST musicians that I've ever met and played with had been military musicians. The BEST drummer I've EVER played with had been a drummer in the Army Band.

Just something to think about. I was in the Army but I wasn't a musician. My job was much more dangerous and dirty than that. As a musician, you would not likely see any combat. If you want to be as sure as you can get that you won't see combat, then just join the Air Force or the Navy as a musician (NOT the Army or Marines). The military gets a bad rap but being a musician in the military wouldn't be a bad job at all.

Just another option to think about that's all. You'd get world class training and you wouldn't have to pay for it--you bet GETTING PAID to get schooled.

 

[totallyfrozen]

...At least get a 2 year degree in criminal justice or something...

You bring up a good point.
DON'T get a 2 year degree in Criminal Justice. In the end, you'll have student loans to repay and no marketable knowledge or skills. You'll be working at Starbucks trying to pay off student loans for a degree in nothing.
Go to college but THINK about what you're going to study. Study something that has a job market for it!

College and music go hand in hand in many cases. There are many famous, successful groups who met in college. There are also famous, successful musicians who were college educated.
Brian May of Queen earned a degree in Astrophysics. Now he's retired and he's not a guitar teacher struggling to fill a week with students. He's been appointed the Chancellor of the Liverpool John Moores Univeristy. Talk about a "back up plan"!

However, I do understand the spirit of the post I quoted which is the right idea...
Do SOMETHING!
Have a plan!

 

[funkybass4ever]

Wait. You're in CA. Go to community college and ask about their guaranteed admissions program to the UC and CSU system. Community college is cheap and if you do well in JC you can qualify for grants and scholarships, most of which you wont need to pay back.

+1 When I turned 18 I had a choice- either get a job or go to school. Parents paid for the first 2 years of community college, I still wanted to be a musician then but now I have a career that gets my bills paid and allows me to get great gear- and I still want to hit it big as a musician You don't have to let your dreams die

 

[rcarraher]

I am 17. Recently, I informed my mom that I had never planned on going to college, that I wanted to be a musician. Then of course she goes off on me about how its not a realistic goal and that many people want to be musicians but most of them don't make it.

I know I will have to work a low paying job for years, but I'm not afraid of being poor, as long as I make enough to live, my main concern is music. I'm much more afraid that I'll spend my whole life doing something I have absolutely no passion for. Nothing is as important to me as music.

I'm unsure now though if she's right and I'm making a foolish decision as young people typically do. I don't know what I'm asking, I guess just looking for some guidance.

Any wisdom/inspiration is much appreciated, especially from you veterans

Your drive and awareness of the "sacrificesl" necessary to make it, even modestly in the music biz are a good sign. You are going into it eyes wide open. On the other hand, college, or a higher education beyond high school are invaluable. Don't pass that up just because you want to be a musician. Persue a music scholarship, or any scholarship available to you.

As with any calling, disciple, or vocation, there is more to it than just the parts you might find most enjoyable. For instance, even if all you want to do is play, a knowledge of business, sound engineering, music production etc... colud be invaluable to a professional musician. A study of history, art, literature might prove keys to your creative juices.

Besides that the college "experience" can be a social awakening, a hell of a lot of fun, and invaluable in so many ways.

 

[Bass of Justice]

ok the pieces are falling into place. it should have been so easy to see that i could go to college and learn some kind of skill to have a back up plan and solid income to support my passion for music. everyone, thank you for making me realize that, but i am definitely never giving up music. ever.

about being a military musician, what kind of requirements do they set? do you have to know a lot about theory and music reading and such? because i am pretty far behind in formal music training. same reason why session musician is probably out of the question.

 

[rcarraher]

You have no way in the world of knowing that. How much do you really know about everyone in the world that holds a steady job, especially if you don't? Nobody really knows how the other half lives.

I'm not saying that you don't have a full life, but to make a blanket statement about how everyone else lives who made a different decision than you did is just silly.

I have been a working musician, a highly respected electonics engineer, and a college professor in the field of computers/IT. The blanket statement that "ONLY" a full time musician could have a fulfilling life/time is, frankly ridiculous. I find that all three have been very satisfying in different ways. I wouldn't have done them if they weren't.

 

[Pacman]

Here's a nutty idea!
Join the military AS A MUSICIAN and play in a military band.

WAIT! HERE ME OUT.

All the branches of the military have a band. They are NOT just simply parade marching bands. One of the most talented and professional groups I've ever heard is the Air Force Band of the Pacific. They study music at the college level, play pretty much everything (from big band jazz to rock, etc.) and they GET PAID to do it.
Being a musician in the military is a CAKE ride. It's not about getting in fire fights on a battle field; it's about playing gigs for all sorts of occasions, seriously! Any event or graduation or holiday that I've seen around here has included a band from the Air Force. Their musicians are top notch! In fact, the Judds (Country group) came up here last summer and I took my wife (she's a Country music fan) and one of the Air Force bands played as the opening band. I thought it was Terrence Trent D'Arby until I peered through the crowd and got a peek of the stage. They really rocked the place!
The reason I bring it up is that I was in the military so I thought about it--you get paid, you get your necessities provided for you (housing, medical, etc.) and you get paid to be trained. They send you to school and pay you for it. Once your enlistment's done, you're free to go. You can probably earn a degree in Music while in the military and if not, you'll at least get the money to do it later.

Beyond any doubt, some of the BEST musicians that I've ever met and played with had been military musicians. The BEST drummer I've EVER played with had been a drummer in the Army Band.

Just something to think about. I was in the Army but I wasn't a musician. My job was much more dangerous and dirty than that. As a musician, you would not likely see any combat. If you want to be as sure as you can get that you won't see combat, then just join the Air Force or the Navy as a musician (NOT the Army or Marines). The military gets a bad rap but being a musician in the military wouldn't be a bad job at all.

Just another option to think about that's all. You'd get world class training and you wouldn't have to pay for it--you bet GETTING PAID to get schooled.

Dude. Check out post #17.

By the way, I'm *in* the Band of the Pacific (just the Asia portion). I recently had some of your guys on tour in Japan, and loved playing with them!

 

[Pacman]

ok the pieces are falling into place. it should have been so easy to see that i could go to college and learn some kind of skill to have a back up plan and solid income to support my passion for music. everyone, thank you for making me realize that, but i am definitely never giving up music. ever.

about being a military musician, what kind of requirements do they set? do you have to know a lot about theory and music reading and such? because i am pretty far behind in formal music training. same reason why session musician is probably out of the question.

Here's a link to the requirements for the bass audition for Air Force bands:

Link Removed (it's a PDF file...)

Yes, they're stringent. The Army, Navy and Marines have lower standards, but will require 6 months music school in Norfolk, VA. (it's a very good school - eat, breathe and sleep music for 6 months. It did me wonders!)

If you don't have these skills, I'd seriously re-think the idea of making a living at music. Being a musician is hard, and every amateur musician in your area will be competing for you gigs - only they'll play for beer, or "exposure". That's money out of your pocket. If you can't do the skills outlined in that audition, you won't be able to do enough of the gigs available to make any money at all.

I know I sound like a wet blanket, but this is something you need to hear. Best of luck to you - I'd recommend college, trade school or the military.

Good luck to you.

 

[ehque]

Imho, you don't choose music as a career, music chooses you.

You can't just up and decide you want to be a rock star. You'll fall flat on your face and everyone will see it coming.

Just keep working at your academics as well as your music and you may one day realise: "hey, i think i'm earning more money from music than my job. perhaps i should pursue that instead?"

 

[majortoby]

That PDF shames me in a way only a PDF could.

 

[LCW]

Community college is usually 66$ per credit hour that means full time tuition for 1 term is around 800$ + books.

Thats pretty cheap and if your broke like me financial aid pays it all, and gives you some spending money . I get 1700$ a term and school is about 1200$ with books leaving me 500$ , which since i live at home with an unemployed father buys me food or pays the little bills i have.

 

[totallyfrozen]

Dude. Check out post #17.

By the way, I'm *in* the Band of the Pacific (just the Asia portion). I recently had some of your guys on tour in Japan, and loved playing with them!

Ah...how'd I miss that?! You beat me to it.
Yeah, I've NEVER heard ANY gigs by the Band of the Pacific that weren't just incredible. Just goes to prove that it's not all nerdy squares in the military. You guys really ROCK!

You know, I'll throw in another 2 cents (that makes about a $1 for me so far, right?) on the "music" portion of the "career". I think there is something important you need to see here. Being a military musican, a studio musician, a musician AT ALL...should be the same. I mean, no matter what you do with your music, you SHOULD be serious about learning theory and technique and all that stuff. Too many guys focus on the image and the stardom and don't realize that you aren't going to get far if you don't know your stuff. You won't get very far up the ladder before your competition is just WAY BETTER than you! Those Air Force audition requirements should be considered the minimum by ALL of us; not just the guys hoping to enlist. If that stuff is beyond your ability, then you should consider those to be personal goals for your musical studies. Make a plan to be able to nail ALL of that stuff within the next 6 months to a year, IMHO. I mean, forget fame and wealth...you won't even make a decent music teacher if you don't know that stuff.

 

[Korladis]

Why don't you just go to college for music?

 

[Ed Fuqua]

Invalid Link Removed

 

[KPAX]

Well, ask yourself - are you good enough to be a sucessful musician? Think of musicians you aspire to. Do you think you're as good as they were at age 17. At age 17 you're probably not very refined but do you have the RAW TALENT to be really sucessful? Believe me, the people who make it really big KNEW they were very special at a very young age.
Do you aspire to be in sucessful band, playing your own music? Do you write songs? Are they good? Do you sing? Sing well? If not, are you in a band and have chemistry with someone who writes and sings well?
If you have family willing to support your college education, don't take that lightly. Most people don't have that privilege.

I am 17. Recently, I informed my mom that I had never planned on going to college, that I wanted to be a musician. Then of course she goes off on me about how its not a realistic goal and that many people want to be musicians but most of them don't make it.

I know I will have to work a low paying job for years, but I'm not afraid of being poor, as long as I make enough to live, my main concern is music. I'm much more afraid that I'll spend my whole life doing something I have absolutely no passion for. Nothing is as important to me as music.

I'm unsure now though if she's right and I'm making a foolish decision as young people typically do. I don't know what I'm asking, I guess just looking for some guidance.

Any wisdom/inspiration is much appreciated, especially from you veterans