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University or Bass playing?
- Thread starter Patrick Spence-Lewis
- Start date
I'll be at contrarian. From a business perspective, there is only one reason to take on debt: to purchase an asset that can produce enough money to pay the debt. Incurring debt for consumption is stupid.
Would you take on debt to purchase a Patek Philipe watch? It costs about the same as a college education (in the US.) And an expensive watch, unlike a degree, can be sold for cash. But no one would be foolish enough to tell you to make that transaction.
If you can get a college degree for free, by all means do so. If you intend to take on debt, make sure you are purchasing something that is worth the price. That might be an education: you can't be an engineer without knowing a lot of math. It might be credentials: you can't be a doctor or a lawyer without the right parchment. It might be connections: the word "cronies" it is derived from the Greek word "chronos" for time as in the people who are of your time.
But if what you're buying is parties and a degree you don't care about, Just get a job instead.
Would you take on debt to purchase a Patek Philipe watch? It costs about the same as a college education (in the US.) And an expensive watch, unlike a degree, can be sold for cash. But no one would be foolish enough to tell you to make that transaction.
If you can get a college degree for free, by all means do so. If you intend to take on debt, make sure you are purchasing something that is worth the price. That might be an education: you can't be an engineer without knowing a lot of math. It might be credentials: you can't be a doctor or a lawyer without the right parchment. It might be connections: the word "cronies" it is derived from the Greek word "chronos" for time as in the people who are of your time.
But if what you're buying is parties and a degree you don't care about, Just get a job instead.
My 19 yr old son is in the same place your are.
He's a skilled musician and has been playing since he was 6.
He spent last year at an out of state university which was back-breakingly expensive and did little to engage his interest.
I was fine with going broke to support his getting a degree but I much prefer he pursue something he's sincerely interested in, instead of wasting time getting a business degree and ultimately not enjoying his career path.
So this year he's going to a local College in San Francisco and studying Live Sound Engineering and Studio Recording.
This will not result in his earning a degree.
He will still play gigs, but he will obtain paid working experiences and exposure to big wigs in the industry that could advance his career - based on his ability to work hard, pick up skills and get along.
All I can do is be supportive.
Good luck with whatever choice you make.
He's a skilled musician and has been playing since he was 6.
He spent last year at an out of state university which was back-breakingly expensive and did little to engage his interest.
I was fine with going broke to support his getting a degree but I much prefer he pursue something he's sincerely interested in, instead of wasting time getting a business degree and ultimately not enjoying his career path.
So this year he's going to a local College in San Francisco and studying Live Sound Engineering and Studio Recording.
This will not result in his earning a degree.
He will still play gigs, but he will obtain paid working experiences and exposure to big wigs in the industry that could advance his career - based on his ability to work hard, pick up skills and get along.
All I can do is be supportive.
Good luck with whatever choice you make.
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That may be but the world is a very different place. Traditional wisdom doesn't always apply any more.
My 2 cents: not to be dire, but, if you go the uni route, be very very wary of accumulating debt. And go for a degree in a field that makes money. These colleges are businesses, out to make money off you, and they have no problem saddling kids with debt for years and years for a degree in a field that pays sh*t or has no jobs. It tain't no joke.
1. Gap year working, playing music, networking.
2. Off to Uni, but not in music. How about a business degree?
3. Finish Uni with business degree, and get into the music industry.
2-cents/IMHO/HashbrownsWhatDoIKnow?
2. Off to Uni, but not in music. How about a business degree?
3. Finish Uni with business degree, and get into the music industry.
2-cents/IMHO/HashbrownsWhatDoIKnow?
A mate of mine is a work class drummer. When he's not touring with international bands he's an UBER driver.
My cousin worked on Cruise Ships for 20 years. He now sells window blinds. He got sick of being at sea.
Work out how to keep up your cash flow during the quiet periods.
My cousin worked on Cruise Ships for 20 years. He now sells window blinds. He got sick of being at sea.
Work out how to keep up your cash flow during the quiet periods.
University is not only about your major subject. Obtaining a degree tells the world that you completed a variety of other courses including math, science, literature and foreign language that make you well-rounded. And shows stick-to-it ability.
Much like any path in life, you gotta know where you stand in the real world before you can make a good decision on which path to take. I'm talking about really know where you stand as a bass player, and as a human among the rest of your society. If you don't know where you stand you'll need to do a lot of soul searching, and get out in the real world to evaluate what others do and are capable of.
If you have gigs and opportunity lined up for bass, go for it. Those opportunities only come around once in your lifetime. And if you are tops in bass playing, and have the character to maintain a future in the music industry, you can be successful with the right people. Much like anything, you can always sign up for college/university at any time in your life.
If you are not truly passionate about bass, and don't know where you stand among others in the pro world of the music industry. You'd be better off at a University or in the military. Either one will allow you to evaluate your true abilities and evaluate where you stand among others in real life. If you go the military route, you'll be independent and able to pay for your own education, and not rely on others for anything.
Nevertheless, any path you take is hard work, and not free (other than a free ride on your parent's cash). It's also not easy, and nobody will give you anything (except your parents). You'll have to earn everything yourself based on, what kind of character you have, and the skills you have to earn.
That's my take on College or Bass. Just some food for thought.
If you have gigs and opportunity lined up for bass, go for it. Those opportunities only come around once in your lifetime. And if you are tops in bass playing, and have the character to maintain a future in the music industry, you can be successful with the right people. Much like anything, you can always sign up for college/university at any time in your life.
If you are not truly passionate about bass, and don't know where you stand among others in the pro world of the music industry. You'd be better off at a University or in the military. Either one will allow you to evaluate your true abilities and evaluate where you stand among others in real life. If you go the military route, you'll be independent and able to pay for your own education, and not rely on others for anything.
Nevertheless, any path you take is hard work, and not free (other than a free ride on your parent's cash). It's also not easy, and nobody will give you anything (except your parents). You'll have to earn everything yourself based on, what kind of character you have, and the skills you have to earn.
That's my take on College or Bass. Just some food for thought.
The obvious answer is do both. You have plenty of time in your life to do both, and, frankly, much more. Get your degree, then play bass professionally. And along the way do whatever other cool things you want do, too.
Hindsight it a wonderful thing. When I left school I went down to London right at the beginning of the punk era and got into a couple of bands, we were moderately successful and got gigs with some of the better known bands of the day and bookings were relentless for a while but in the end we started to fall out of favour and I could see we were going nowhere so I got out and joined the navy (as you do) and after that I did various jobs, some I liked and some I hated. It wasn't until 2001 that I decided I really needed to go to university, which I did and it opened so many doors for me.
So, hindsight, would I do my life differently? Well no I wouldn't because I am who I am today because of the life I lived and I like me. But, and this is the thing, life improved so much after uni, if I had my time again and I went to uni first then my life would be different, maybe even better; so if I was 16 - 18 would I go to uni there and then, yes no questions. Education is the greatest gift you can have, you can still play even in uni but you have to balance it. There is absolutely no point in going if you are the type who is likely to skip lectures, not do the course work etc etc. All that is is a waste of yours and everyone's time and will land you with a debt that needs paying off with no benefit to it. When I started my course in uni there was 70 students on that course but at the end only 7 of us remained and graduated, what a waste of time and money for all those who dropped out, some even at the very end. Uni is a lot of work if you want to get anything out of it but it is also a lot of fun. Go for it and work hard at it and then get on and live life to the full afterwards with something that can never be taken away from you
So, hindsight, would I do my life differently? Well no I wouldn't because I am who I am today because of the life I lived and I like me. But, and this is the thing, life improved so much after uni, if I had my time again and I went to uni first then my life would be different, maybe even better; so if I was 16 - 18 would I go to uni there and then, yes no questions. Education is the greatest gift you can have, you can still play even in uni but you have to balance it. There is absolutely no point in going if you are the type who is likely to skip lectures, not do the course work etc etc. All that is is a waste of yours and everyone's time and will land you with a debt that needs paying off with no benefit to it. When I started my course in uni there was 70 students on that course but at the end only 7 of us remained and graduated, what a waste of time and money for all those who dropped out, some even at the very end. Uni is a lot of work if you want to get anything out of it but it is also a lot of fun. Go for it and work hard at it and then get on and live life to the full afterwards with something that can never be taken away from you
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I worked on cruise ships for 6 years. People only work on cruise ships to get smashed. It's fun, but I would highly recommend not doing it at your point in life.
Go to school. Keep making music connections and hone your craft. If you've got the stuff, opportunities will come. If not, consider a "normal" degree, and doing music part time.
Go to school. Keep making music connections and hone your craft. If you've got the stuff, opportunities will come. If not, consider a "normal" degree, and doing music part time.
You will regret not going to school. It may take a while and you may not even notice some of the doors that are closed to you. You definitely don't know what doors might open.
People sometimes take wildly different career paths from their training but use that education, sometimes directly, sometimes not so directly to get the opportunity to do so.
I studied Philosophy and Elementary Education when I was young. I now work in the medical field but both degrees have helped me get opportunities I wouldn't have had otherwise.
People sometimes take wildly different career paths from their training but use that education, sometimes directly, sometimes not so directly to get the opportunity to do so.
I studied Philosophy and Elementary Education when I was young. I now work in the medical field but both degrees have helped me get opportunities I wouldn't have had otherwise.
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With a college education you just think differently, you speak differently, your whole outlook is different.
Is college for everyone, no, but, if you can cut it I highly recommend giving it a try.
Is college for everyone, no, but, if you can cut it I highly recommend giving it a try.
Sounds like gap years were pretty much invented for people in your position. I'm also a firm believer in going to university when you want to be there. I'm about to get my 2nd degree 30 years after the first one. What a difference it's made that I really want to learn what I'm studying this time.
