Regret music degree reddit I've been out of college for about 3 years or so. However, I had a friend who pursued music and he told me about different things that they taught him. Yes, you can. Apr 19, 2024 · I felt my degree was meaningless when I was done with my bachelor but then I went to a good university for my masters and I am so proud and happy about my masters degree. I also started another degree that I dropped out of. If you don’t get the reference watch the first episode of futurama. As someone pursuing a degree in psychology, I just finished my first semester of college. Yes, I know that everyone tells you specialty pharmacy or niches are the way to go. i'm actually in the process of doing the entire opposite—i have a degree in the art field and work as a graphic designer. unless you’re completely sure on your plan (ex; grad school or teaching) taking out 100k in loans is a really bad move. Another runs a small store, another is a landscaper, and the last one is a full-time barista (but he's the only one who still has a band and plays gigs). They are happy and I am happy I regret thinking teaching was more than any Katherine job or career. I have four friends with music degrees. from an opposite perspective, i dont regret choosing to stay instate for college and living at home so i don’t have to take out a single penny in loans. But if you get bored and want out, or find yourself in a highly competitive position, a degree will help you move up or on . You can either go straight for the degree, or take a few classes until you are skilled enough to start working in the field somewhere, then get your job to pay for the degree. This doesn’t mean you can’t take music classes. Business requires more networking but is still pretty flexible. etc. Wᴇʟᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ʀ/SGExᴀᴍs – the largest community on reddit discussing education and student life in Singapore! SGExams is also more than a subreddit - we're a registered nonprofit that organises initiatives supporting students' academics, career guidance, mental health and holistic development, such as webinars and mentorship I’m wondering when it comes to job opportunities or salary, has anyone wished they had received a degree in another alternative field? I know that in some aspects a clinical social work degree as well as clinical counseling that can lead you both to the same place but I’m just curious if anyone has any regrets with the degree they did receive. I don’t regret uni, I did accounting and finance and secured a grad job pretty early and enjoy it. What I'm doing right now is to attending school for medical technology. Either way it's far cheaper than going the four year route. Ot just sucks being the political football. These things are parallel to almost every workplace. Especially on the performance arts/ NPO side of things. Engineers apply the knowledge of math & science to design and manufacture maintainable systems used to solve specific problems. Either college needs to be free, so young people don't run up any debt, or college needs to replaced with schools that are focused on setting people up with a job, with an emphasis on getting a job rather than on older and aristocratic ideas about a general liberal arts education. However, with a medtech degree, I have an easier time getting a job that's stable and secure. After about 5 years of working in that field, I decided it wasn't for me and went back to school to pursue an environmental engineering degree. I’m in clinical research (work for big pharma). Coding sounds like a good backup plan. I love teaching. Yeah, I regret it a lot. In fact, for a brief time, I considered becoming a psychologist, and with my music degree I was able to get into a masters psych program. It won't prepare you for a job, but it will absolutely give you the career skills you need!! A degree isn’t a career chip you won’t get hurled into the sun via catapult for refusing. Am I a better musician than people without music degrees? Hell no. I think Popular music isn’t nearly as sophisticated as it used to be bc many artists only have a limited scope, range and education in music. Hell, my technical director has a geology degree, and my stage manager doesn’t have a degree at all. my parents wanted me to go to college, so I studied Music Production online at Berklee College of music and got a 2 year degree from there. I loved school, but I'm $20,000 in debt with two degree's that I did nothing with. I also know people with music degrees who work at grocery stores or drive Uber, working jobs they totally could've gotten without four years of effort and tuition. Ultimately decided against it, cus you really need a PhD to make that work as a career. I regret that I turned down full ride scholarships at actually amazing programs to attend BYU. Music requires learning the technical and the creative, requires self guided practicing and group playing, etc. but also other handy stuff like electrical work and maybe plumbing to diversify my skill set and be able to charge more for my time and hopefully work less. Eventually I had to go back to school because I was working a dead end minimum wage job, as illustration is SUPER competitive and I don't market myself well enough. I’ve never worked with anyone who has a degree in music. That being said, many don't regret it. If you get to the point that you can comfortably afford to quit work and follow your dreams, then do it. exist. Since you’re already close to the end, it is worthwhile to finish the degree. 59 votes, 29 comments. The problem now is that most degrees don’t lead you anywhere and the job market is way oversaturated, so I would advise that you either go for a good time and a great experience- whilst not expecting a great career as a result, or go for a hard working career oriented course that doesn’t offer BYU Music graduate and ex music department staff member here. The reason I regret my degree has nothing to do with my success right now and everything to do with value based on what I paid for the degree. They followed their dreams and stuck with it. All of the “good” ones are in-person only, especially with Musicology. The best thing about a music degree is the connections you make there, but it’s your job to utilise them. Regret about not pursuing music degree Hi all, I thought this would be a good place to post this question – let me know if there's a better place to ask. If you happen to be a magnificent composer you can probably become rich and famous, but even if that were the case, it'd take time and you might go hungry before you get there. So yeah, I totally do not regret going to school for music. It takes people a while to find their way in the “real world” and having any degree doesn’t guarantee you’ll get a job. Don’t apply your degree to straight graphic design. I studied composition and have been a music teacher, English trainer and assistant to handicapped people, but make hardly any money from composing music. Sometimes you don't need college to make that plan, but college means something nowadays when everyone asks for a degree (even if you don't really need one). e computer science, mechanical etc. I kind of regret my illustration degree, honestly. If you are unhappy with your career trajectory, then make the change. I thought I would be content just being comfortable but I’m really not. I would have gotten more out of my tuition had I majored in business or comp sci in my opinion. Before this course, I went to an irl uni to study social science, which I thought at the time was a useless degree, and also it was really hard to juggle lectures with a job so I quit after year 1. PS. A music degree doesn't guarantee you anything, and multiple of my friends who got performance degrees do nothing at all related to music. Either get the degree in something else and pursue film afterwards anyway (so you have a safety net) or quit school and make the jump to LA. Outside of that, making money with music depends on networking, skill, marketing yourself, luck, and opportunity. If you are in such a position, you can use a music degree to your advantage. I'm doing music on the side playing 2-3 days a week and working 40+ hours in a hotel in an office job. Nobody in this industry is going to come to you with a job offer, it’s up to you to put the effort in. Think degree like Biochemistry, if you work in academia as a researcher, you don't earn as much (of course you can still earn a lot of money if you work in pharma industry). As a corporate recruiter I can say that 95% of the time, people do not use their degree / specific major in a 1:1. I recently got a job at the YMCA and yes it does pay very little, I am preparing to go macro and work in recreation. Here’s the jobs that care if you have a music degree: academic jobs that require them, and music-related (but not composing or performing) jobs like administrative jobs for music organizations. But that's me, it will allow you to support yourself so not all bad. It’s a great backup to have. We are not triaging people in an emergency room here. Some places call it a mechatronics degree. Hey! In terms of online music degrees, there really aren’t many of any great caliber. especially since i wasn’t sure on what i wanted to do at first. If you want to view it as a steppingstone to the veterans administration or a state level salary then that’s one thing, but having a undergraduate degree in therapeutic recreation is no different than having a degree in something like psychology or communications without plans to advance. Your degree is a testament on how disciplined and motivated you are as a person. I had to take one semester of theory and ensembles again. US PhD programs require 2 years of seminars and qualifying exams which earn you a masters in transit (you can start directly from BA), and you’re expected to explore topics and discuss endlessly with your advisor before even beginning your research, much less For me, I wanted to write music and play in bands. So it is a crazy quilt of degrees and occupations out there. I hear you bro. A lot work at the mall to supplement their income. And many of those who do get STEM degrees, some say half, don't even go into STEM occupations. I have an Associates Degree in Applied Sciences and a BA in Criminal Justice (which is technically another Science degree). Some job adverts don’t even specify a related degree, just ANY degree. Im 25, from UK and about to start my year 3 of 6 of my BSc degree at open uni. I'm very glad that I did that. Worst case, you find an engineering position while you chip away a different degree. Also, engineering jobs are significantly different than school. I did mention I used to be a music major, I would’ve regretted it if I stayed as a music major. I majored in philosophy, work in ad tech. I do regret my run-of-the-mill BA only because twenty years later I only ever use my degree to correct people online. I loved psychology, my teacher was horrible, as well as my classmates. Start trying to connect with people that can give you entry level work as a production assistant. Not only that, but each day I regret more and more that this was my choice. Music Ed Degrees generally include completing the necessary things such as Licensure, Student Teaching, Praxis exams, Certification, etc. Whether or not you get a degree, that’s where everyone that isn’t related to a celebrity starts. I get where you're coming from and I definitely experience it myself from time to time, but there's a reason amended tax returns, prior period adjustments, audit notes etc. If you can financially handle taking an entry level music gig, it doesn’t hurt to try it. THAT is what I regret. One took a degree in music despite not enjoying music at all, and another took some kind of film studies simply because her friends did the same and she didn't want to be the odd one out. Not having one often does. imo recording studios are better off with an electrical engineer on staff, that way any repairs and maintenance can be done in house. I usually get a joking "Ooooh you have a degree in music. I regret thinking that x pay was actually good money, because j was young and poor and it sounded like a lot. I also get a lot of people going to the local music college) On the other hand, i never went to uni and i really wish i had. Having a degree definitively helps you get better jobs, regardless of what degree it is. Only grew up with Baroque-friendly music and never liked modern music such as Stravinsky or Hindemith. Only if the job legally requires a degree/masters do we require it now. I have Bsc and MSc mechatronics engineering degree and currently I am a PhD candidate in the same major. I paid off all my tuition Yes but students come in with a masters as standard. I really liked having the time, for several years, to be focused on music, playing opportunities, and the university environment. I work in IT and have people with teaching degrees, art degrees heck even a dude with a culinary degree. I started thinking about studying music production. After graduation, most aren't working with their degrees at all. 18 votes, 48 comments. Dude, accounting is fucking accounting. Jan 14, 2013 · I decided to go for a music degree as an adult, and have some regrets, but, at the time, it was just something I had to do, kind of a single-minded passion. It's okay to do great without a degree if you have a skill, talent or interest within an area . I should have gone into art ed originally, but I didn't want to be a teacher. Outside of STEM jobs, many simply require college degrees from a reputable 1. Also, if you decide to pursue a music degree, you can still study other subjects as a minor or in a cluster like business, computers, industrial arts etc. Feb 21, 2024 · Most degrees aren't useless but you need a viable plan in place for it. my plan is to learn all i can about sustainable agriculture, permaculture, horticulture, etc. reddit's new API changes kill third party apps that offer accessibility features, mod tools, and other features not found in the first party app. I thought about a music degree, but ultimately decided against it because I viewed music as a creative outlet and decided that I didn't want to begin approaching it like a job. Except for degrees in law, medicine or engineering, most people will only ever use their degree to check a box from graduation point forward. Music Education has a few online programs, but they’re mediocre—and don’t seem to be what you’re looking for. I founded an $11million music company and my CFO started doing a music degree at Cambridge before she switched to economics and become an investment banker. I don't intend on going to med-school because I hate medicine. One runs an interior painting company. They regret it. Most people will work roughly 3-4 careers in their life span. If you are a motivated, energetic pupil, you will have a distinct advantage over your peers who did not seek a music degree. The people I know who are most unhappy with their music degrees are those who end up quitting, but ignore the advantages their degree confers in finding a good job outside performing. Some degrees like engineering, sorta business too, and much simpler, more flexible, and require less planning in general to get a good job. However, what I wish I knew starting Uni is that I would do this degree (or any degree for that matter) then have to do another 3 years (or more due to exam fails) of study to become a Chartered Accountant (ACA). But the reality is that those jobs pay significantly less and require crazy hourly metrics. Another idea is to get a degree in Music Composition, then a degree in education, or a degree in audio engineering. I just graduated with an electronics masters as an F-1 student. You can do event planning with a social work degree, consulting,human resources, administration etc. A music degree is like any other in that, you get out of it what you put in. I am actually playing more music and getting deeper into it now that I am working 40 hours a week, than when I was trying to cobble together a career as a musician / audio engineer. (the other half are still in uni. CSCareerQuestions protests in solidarity with the developers who made third party reddit apps. Literally every person I know that has taken a degree (roughly 11 people, admittedly a small sample size) have taken it just because 'it's the done thing'. I loved college but I don't love the debt I'm in from it. If you’re studying organ and plan on working for churches or are a vocalist with the potential to sing Verdi or Wagner you’re gonna have a much different experience than if you’re trying to study guitar or composition. My dream is to make a living from drumming, ideally with session type work recording and gigging. But the options were there. When my boyfriend graduated with a biology degree he spent months working two restaurant jobs before he finally got a job in his field, which required a degree, and only paid him $9 an hour. However, I don't really believe in studying it because I don't think that this degree can actually feed me in the nearest future. If I could go back, I would've taken a quarter of the time and got a business degree. This is why the current ideas for college are broken. Dec 6, 2019 · Can you link to the methodology of the study? In the US, law is a graduate level major, not an undergrad. Where I work now we even remove degree requirements from as many positions as we can because it can narrow our pool of good candidates. if you can minor in IT or compsci i would recommend that, and supplement learning audio production / engineering online on youtube, then try and get an apprenticeship / internship at a I regret believing them when they said the degree I picked would get me a high earning job. I have another friend with a degree in sound Lots of these suggestions are good ideas. yea i think working for yourself doing landscaping, maintenance and other things like that could be a good paying path in horticulture. Don't let anyone tell you music isn't a practical degree. realized i can only go so far with this and am now applying to grad school for an mba in finance. Maybe you don’t feel your school was prestigious enough? Thats all subjective though. if you want to get the experience and the degree go I regret my degree but I don’t regret going. It wasn’t that incredible. At least you'll have some qualification. First of all, I didn't so much know about this major. If you go back to school, pursue a career that pays well. You can always take some classes at a community college or through an instructor that has a music degree and ask questions. The only thing you might regret is not having done it The problem I have now is that everywhere I look the jobs require a degree. Like, there's tons of money in music in reality, you just have to stumble into practically by accident. I just have to pass the last exam to get my physics degree and i can assure you that i regret studying physics nearly everyday, it's hard, it's frustating and most of the times is uninteresting, i'd say it is quite normal to feel that way, currently i am working in a research centre and it is by far better than being an student. Don't expect a music degree or a music career to pay off. Yes I regret it, but it's good $$$. I’m 27 (didn’t start college until 22/23) and graduated last July with a degree in biology with an emphasis in bioinformatics… Many STEM degrees, although are hard, the jobs coming out of it don't necessarily give you lots of money. if i could do it over again, i'd choose the "smart" degree first and use the money i save to pursue my "dream" degree, or just work on my dream i am graduating with my phd next month and i already regret it. It rarely ever works like that. I’m located in CO if context 37, no degree begins to have impact in the executive range of employment. However, I concede that music making is entirely subjective, and it is not uncommon, as in your teachers example, for professional musicians to not have a degree. Most of them have an arts/ music background. In my experience, mechatronics is too complex to be good at just by studying Bsc. One, this year, started earning enough giving lessons that he was able to leave his job at Starbucks. So I don’t hate my major but I wish I picked something specific in my major . Woooow!" from some folks I play with, but at the end of the day when the music starts the bullshit stops. true. Often I see it as “Go to school > get a degree > go into a job in the same subject > £££”. I have a degree in undergraduate performance and was able to apply some (not all) credits to my undergraduate music education degree. You can totally apply credits from a completed degree to another. Having a degree regardless of the major will never hurt you. turns out there are no jobs, academia is a wasteland of semi-nomadic living and no guarantees, and now i'm in my late twenties having made very little money the past decade and wishing i had just built a normal career like my less-educated peers who are happily buying cars and For example, a music degree; if you have a realistic understanding of what you can do with it when you're done and have a plan to get there, go for it, it will serve you well. They made me hate the whole course. For STEM occupations, yes, your degrees are a hard sell, but most people , even today, do not go for STEM degrees. I had a number of parallel interests I could have done a degree in, but I picked the hardest one (maths/physics) believing it would get me the best jobs. The degree made me a better musician, but I learned more from emulating artists in the style I want to write than I ever did from my music degree. I don't regret getting a liberal arts degree, I do regret going to an expensive, fancy, private university. If I could go back, I would study a more fundamental degree i. I don’t think I would ever get to be a psychologist anyway. Go for a role/field where it’s helpful to have that background. i took some music courses as electives and did internships in music to get me where i wanted to in the music industry. At this moment I realized that I am not where I want to be and study. Unless they are referring to “criminal justice” as a major, in which case there’s no question that a high percentage of students regret that major- it doesn’t help get into law school and without higher education it leads to jobs as probation officers and the like- not especially My own degree is completely irrelevant to my current job. I wish I had the courage to pursue something I really loved instead of just picking what was safe. While you don’t need a music degree to play and perform depending on your talent and access, many musicians don’t have proper business savvy and music business savvy, in particular. Definitely finish the degree, it often comes in handy just to say you have one. I am excited to do my job, but I will say that engineering is not for everyone. Now think about all music related groups and how many non front facing people behind them. Pretty much just graduate, especially in engineering and you'll get a job. Unfortunately my degree will probably be a total waste when I eventually quit this in a few years. You can still use your degree without being a social worker and I wish social work programs would just tell us that. I am having massive anxiety about making the wrong decision. What you want to do is learn in the style you want to write. I think more companies are going down that route. A bachelors degree in music is not worth anything so if you know you don’t want to go to grad school or teach then don’t study music. My recommendation is that if you want to pursue a music career, continue as you are with the safety net of a paying job. 4K votes, 458 comments. I have a music degree (not performance though) and am MORE than happy to work a 9-5 (IT) and play music on nights and weekends. What Can I do with a Music Ed. The marketability of a music degree vary widely depending on the person. AskEngineers is a forum for questions about the technologies, standards, and processes used to design & build these systems, as well as for questions about the engineering profession and its many disciplines. Look people up on LinkedIn. It definitely prepared me for my life as it exists right now. i did it to qualify for the best jobs in my field. They also apply for a specific research project and have to match exactly. It just didn't teach them anything about getting a job in an over-supplied field. Musicians getting a music degree should be at least exposed to all of this. I regret it every day because due to oversaturation, I will never be able to leave my Specialty Job, which I hate. But I work more with “uneducated” people. I’ve worked professionally in music for decades. Main reason being how long it took me to get my bachelors degree in electrical engineering (currently working on masters in robotics now). I went to college for an international relations major at a small school because I thought that was a good idea at the time. Do I regret going to music school? No. I got a degree in marketing too. Arts degrees though, plenty of them. They probably have a associate degree program as well. Music school helped deflate the romance of being a performing musician for me. Not knowing what I was doing with my life was the most stressful thing ever. i also didn’t have the financial means or good schools for music business around me to be Music is absolutely pervasive in industry but I remember my sister's degree in music never went over any of that. So you could argue my colleague who has an art degree would be more qualified for the jobs than me by simply having a degree. Composition/ theory is gonna be one of the harder ones. in bachelor and study mechatronics in higher degrees. The rigidity that a music degree offers, with its classical leanings, isn't going to apply much imo. Definitely don’t regret it and it absolutely helped my career, even though I hated doing it. Most music classes at colleges are open to most students as long as you clear the prerequisites. The quality of life is pretty worthwhile as an engineer. I regret thinking that teachers were universally loved and respected. I did not get the level of education or the opportunities that I could have. I chose to do a medtech degree first so I can be stable with a job when I graduate so that I can pursue my passion I have already completed a degree that I only started for the money, which I have no real desire to actually work in. i work in music but it wasn’t my major. I enjoy music production, but I ended up not being in that career field, so it ended up just being a big waste of time and money. that are required for teaching in the Public School system (in the US). I have experience in musical theatre pit bands and have been studying music at school for all of high school so far and enjoy it a lot, Which leads me on to the question of whether a music degree is worth it for a career as a drummer. One essentially writes songs in his bedroom while his wife pays the bills. I just had to do this. In general though, in almost every one of these scenarios I think there's a better route. 135 votes, 324 comments. I graduated with a music degree in 2013 and ended up working a soul crushing job I hated for 6 years totally unrelated to music just to make ends meet (barely). Now I have decided to follow a dream of becoming a Marine Biologist. Degree that I can't do with a Performance Degree? College professor here. . Getting back to regrets: None of my friends regret their degrees because their education did help them. I regret going to school for something that I'm not doing with my life. Here’s a thought locally back at home: Look at SSO, you need a whole office of people at the backend supporting the performing musicians. I'm the opposite, I regret doing engineering and not business. It turned a 4+ year music education degree into 2 years. I don't think that a music degree is a good investment for my future, unlike computer science. I do not regret doing a music degree, but unless you are an amazing musician that can find work in a commercial band or orchestra then it could be hard. Around half of the people applying for jobs have some form of media studies/arts degree and none appear to have ever worked in their field of study. i personally didn’t want to limit myself to only music so i took up business marketing and communication. I wish I had tried my original passions first (currently looking into career changes) and nursing as a back up. If I could do it all over again, I probably would still choose a lib arts major - just at a cheaper school. a degree in music isnt worth shit to people in music, its a hard truth. 100 percent I regret to have a degree in music composition. I think people totally misunderstand the purpose of a degree though. If you are already in it, at least get the degree, and then change if need be. The few who have jobs in music are either teaching it or performing gigs that don't pay the bills. tnbq vdr nktzlr qjbabg heuvismn aesgv qakc cwii wcuyii ngkd