What can you do or have done with a degree in music?

Older sister did music degree(LSU) and MS/PhD stuff in Denton, Texas IIRC.
Professor at a college, private studio at home for lessons(2 baby grands), and church organist/wedding gigs.
She is happy with what her career is, retired from teaching last year, and is still active with church, weddings, lessons.

I side-tracked to electrical engineering b/c learning how stuff works was(is) a major passion since I was a toddler(Dad and Grandpa gave me a World War 2 tube radio to play with when I was 4 to keep me quiet one day) but kept music as a side passion. This "change" from music to engineering happened when I was 30 after a decade or 3 jobs + band to pay bills and support a family. Got a second chance at college thanks to my Grandfather and Mom. Fulltime career plus 80-90 gigs per year at 61. I love doing both. Waking up and getting paid to do something you enjoy every day(and night) is a blessing one can never give enough thanks for.

100% agree with Chris's comment as it sums up the answer:

 

Play music.

Teach music.

That's it. That's all you'll have an option for with a music degree. Does your school offer a minor in music? If so, you could major in something more practical and lucrative, while still getting the option to follow your passion.

 

There's not much you can do with an undergrad degree that you couldn't do without one. Except get a graduate degree. There's not much you can do with a masters in music that you can't do without one. Get a doctorate and you can become a professor, but I think you'll lose money in the bargain.

My wife has the music degree, not me.

 

My trumpet player (Berkelee) paints houses. I know a great bass player who, rather than college, put the money into good lessons. Any specialized degree has its limitations. At least dual major.

 

Retired now, but sold electrical switchgear for forty years with my music theory/composition degree. Made some side money playing in rock bands.

 

No one has mentioned a career in pizza yet?

 

Was about to mention pizza in joke along the lines of this thread, but thought better of it.

 

+1

You would have had to go to grad school if you stuck with psychology. My suggestion would be to keep an eye towards academia if you wish to pursue music. Then again, I'm a risk-averse person. I know you said you weren't hot on teaching, but teaching at the university level is different than private lessons.

A lot of the great employment opportunities in music are less in performance and more on the production side of things. I have a friend, who is a great drummer, who tours constantly doing FOH work and other stage-hand stuff. He's starting his own LLC.

 

You're going to hate me after I'm done, but for your own good, you need the best answer to your questions.

Almost. Great guitar players that are good enough to get into Berklee from the get-go without remediation are a dime a dozen.

It's true. You're right. Only the best players who also understand the career aspect of the music business will get paid adequately.

First off, let's assume you get into the Psychology program and you get the degree and you are well-trained in the discipline of Psychology. Then what? What will the Psychology degree get you? Have you even thought about that? My point is that assuming that Psychology will give you the "adequate pay" that a music program will not give you, is a very misguided assumption. I know way too many disillusioned people with psych degrees. As for giving music a second chance, you better be practicing your arse off daily and working on the right things. Can you read down (head/comp/solo) a Real-book chart? Can you read down a symphonic movie score or a jingle session lead sheet? Can you hear your way through a form? Can you play multiple styles? If a Nashville session player threw out a key and a bunch of numbers, would you know what to do with them? Can you play standards in any key of a singer's choosing? Can you learn a set on 24-48 hours notice? Do you have the chops, eyes, and ears to play anything? Can you do all of the above with a professional demeanor? Can you do background vocals? Can you make arrangements? Can you handle the business aspects of being an independent contractor?

Yeah, ain't that the truth. Alright, so you don't want to teach. Fortunately, great guitarists can keep their professional calendar full if they are willing (and able) to play a multitude of styles. Which brings me to my next counterpoint. . . .

If you couldn't get into Berklee, you probably couldn't play jazz anyway, so it's a good thing you dismissed the jazz option. Funny how things works out, huh? Still don't want to teach? Fine. But you seem to think it's easier to land a teaching gig than a performance gig. That's probably true, but it's still difficult to land even a decent part-time teaching gig at a community music school. It's even more difficult to land a college teaching job (even part-time). There are no public school k-12 teaching jobs for guitarists who only teach guitar. (OK, there are probably a few, but most of us have never heard of any). Private lessons, ah, that's where the $ and stability is, but you're not interested, so go practice.

Proficiency and dabbling won't cut it. You have to be great in whatever you undertake in the music business. Actually, no. You have to be exceptional. Since you couldn't get into Berklee (and I'm sorry to break it to you, but Berklee is not THAT selective), I'm suspecting you are a work-in-progress, so your efforts must be doubled or tripled. Since you don't want to teach, that's not an option for you either. I suggest you finish your psychology degree. Oh, like I said earlier, getting a psychology degree is about like getting a music degree--it's not the paper or the training--it's how you invest yourself in the training and how you apply it (and how you network) that counts. Paper is secondary. But I suspect your heart is not in psychology. But your heart seems to be in music, but you're not good enough, yet, to forecast a livable income stream from your efforts.

Having counseled many in your position, I suggest your find a degree program that has better guaranteed income returns than a psychology degree (no, don't do business, communications or some other fluff degree--get an IT degree or an engineering degree or a nursing (or other direct healthcare) degree. If you have true passion for music, no matter what your level, you will make time for your musical development. Take as many music courses as you can. Understand that you will have to take a few more years than your competitors who got into Berklee right away and even more years than the ones who got into North Texas, Cincinnati, etc. Get the steady income stream that you so desire and do music on evenings/weekends. Work to make music your primary occupation, then drop the "day job" when you have some money saved up and the preparation to succeed.

 

My brother got a music degree in performance, not teaching, from Peabody. He's now been in a partnership for about 30 years installing low voltage systems. He does very well.

 

I got a degree in music because the first four intended majors in college -- econ, math, political science and computer science -- were totally confusing. Music made sense, I enjoyed the work and got good grades. Now I am a stay at home parent.

Would I do it again? Sure. Except maybe I would have gone to a different school. I have a feeling I didn't deserve to be there and the professors assumed I was smarter than I was.

 

Right.

What does his career have to do with his performance degree?

 

Point is you can have a great career in lots of related fields such as pizza delivery...

 

That's what got him in the door to his first job. He then parlayed his experience into a business.

 

Most businesses need some control over the number of applicants that they interview for a position and a college degree is the standard, regardless of what the focus of the degree is. My wife, who has a masters in organ performance parlayed her degree into a job as a warehouse manager for an auto company.