Your experience and opinions welcome, choice to be made.

Hello, well lets get right on it.
 
I was gonna to ask this question in Yahoo! questions but then I figured, what the hell do they know? I came here because I think you guys will have more experience related to the subject.
 
Anyway, I just left a non music related major despite that I was doing very well, and would probably land a good paying, stable job with because I hated it. Could not stand it. Well maybe if I was medicated. But that would lead to all sorts of patient complaints, investigations, etc.
 
Anyway I decided it was time to go after what I wanted. I want to be able to write, perform, mix and edit my own music. I want to be in a major which will help me with mastering both performance and recording and to get a stable job that I can fall back on if no one wants to hear what I have to say. At the very least I am getting my associates in music technology to learn the basics in a cuny school. What I can't make my mind up on is choosing a Masters in music education in another cuny school such as Queens college or Hunter (which would cost me about nothing until I hit grad school) or getting a BA maybe Masters in Music technology in NYU (which will cost me my leg). Im not a well off person and would like to pick the degree that will help me, well,  you know like eat and stuff? I feel I would like working on editing/recording a bit more than teaching but I don't want to be searching for work everyday of my life. Are there stable jobs in this field or does it tend to be more freelance? I do like that in music education major I will be able to improve my vocal performance, but learning about computers is pretty kick ass too. So which degree do you think is the better choice?
 
Random note: I can't do math. I'm math ****ed if you will. I have never worked so hard in another subject as I did in my college algebra class and still get a B. I'm not sure if this will be an issue with the music technology degree because I've heard there is some physics involved.
 
 

Heard a piece of advice many years ago that is worth passing on...

Major in whatever you want, but get a business minor.  The business minor gives one something to fall back upon.  That turned out to be vital.  Much as one may not want to admit it, for 99.9999% Yorolpal is right.

Another example: Charles Ives, great composer, but made his living in insurance (as in the old Currier and Ives).

"You're gonna wind up working in gas station"
     ~F. Zappa

I see no reason in doing something that one hates and not doing the thing one loves. Life is way too short to be stuck doing hateful jobs and always looking out knowing there is something better.

One has to make a living but at what cost and how much of a living? If you have enough knowledge and not as much talent than teach if needed to make a living. Just be sure what want is worth the sacrifice. If you think of it as a sacrifice. In other words follow your bliss. But please don't die at 27.

In the music biz.... it is a hard row to hoe as Yuropal says.

If you do not like the major you are in now, change it while you can to something that you would enjoy doing for 20 to 30 years or so.

Getting a college degree in music would qualify you to be a music teacher, or something similar.....combine it with a divinity degree and be a music minister in a church. (work hours are pretty decent)  Working in a studio as an engineer is also an option but ...do colleges have those sorts of classes? IDK... !

Many people in music with a degree can make enough to live and pay their bills, as teachers and orchestral performers. Many others move to a "practical job" to pay the bills.  Not many "music jobs" last long or have retirement plans.....

In music... 98% of the musicians and others can make anywhere from a piss poor living (while living in Mom's basement) to slightly better than a piss poor living... some even make above the poverty line. the other 1.999% have carved out a notch and make a good living selling CD's and songs and playing live.... while the .0001% remaining are the names we all know who mostly sold their souls are living in the Hollywood hills dragging down 8 figure incomes....getting to that level is extremely rare. (those are my made up numbers, but I have the feeling they are mighty close to accurate)

With the advent of home recording studios that can produce broadcast quality or better product.... and the internet and MP3's which has almost singlehandedly destroyed the record companies as we knew them as kids growing up.....That makes it even harder to make a living in that biz...... things are changing and it is becoming increasingly hard to make a living playing music.....especially if you are living off the music and want things like air conditioning and a car that starts every day.

When I started to understand the reality of this business... I went to school to learn a trade. Electricity & electronics.  I subsequently started a business (after I was fired from a decent job). Having that skill set has allowed me to eat on a regular basis. I have never lost the love or desire to play music, or to try to get my music into the public view. It's just that now, I do it as a hobby, while maintaining a decent style of life for me and my family. 

Through the years I have been in and out of bands (and electricity) some of the bands were really good and were full time..... but bands NEVER last long, and I always had my skills to fall back on to pay the rent and put groceries on the table.

Now, with my business on autopilot, and a decent income stream, I can set back and take some time off to spend in the studio writing and recording. Would I have loved to do this for a career? It's hard to say.....I love music but I also see the destruction of the lives of many of the people who made it to the "big time"... so maybe it's a blessing that my life took the path it did.

I also have a buddy who played drums in several of the bands I was in. He also played in a number of really good regional bands, opening shows for the major artists.  He is 58 years old and has stayed in the music biz from before the time I met and played in bands with him. Today, as I write this, he is living in a bedroom in his momma's house. He has nothing to his name except a set of drums. With all his talent on the drums and as a singer, it got him nowhere. He's not the only one like this that I know..... on the other hand, the musicians who had a "fall back plan" are all on different paths and they still play (some of them) from time to time and still enjoy it.

So my advice.... have a career in something you like. If it's music, go for it. But it's a good idea to have a plan b... just in case.

the music biz is a crap shoot. so load the dice in your favor, if you can. Play it smart.

As one who HAS made a living his whole life by being a musician and engineer I'd say the problem nowadays is that the paradigm has shifted.  And shifted radically.  The tools with which to create music are so ubiquitous and so powerful that almost anyone can have a decent go at it.  So...like it or not...this means it is devalued as a currency and commodity.  The historic methods that composers, performers and producers used to be compensated have been all but eliminated and no viable new working models of compensation have replaced them.  In short...it's way easier to make music than it is to get paid for it.  Them's just the facts, Jack.

Wow, thats a lot to respond to. Anyway its seems most of you are saying to get a plan B. So that means teaching isnt a good plan B? I live in NYC so I thought I could get a teaching job in the dept of ed (although at this moment there is a hiring freeze for NYC teachers) and heard the catholic schools do hire here and there. If the recession doesnt lift and the freeze doesnt end before I graduate I could always try doing private lesssons? Still no?

@guitarhacker, yep they have entire majors for music technology that are SUPPOSED to lead to engineering jobs. how many people actually end up with jobs I don't know. I was hoping companies would like an NYU grad since the name and all. But I don't know how true that is.

Also thanks for the suggestion but Im not religion fan and working in a church would make me feel like a fraud. Plus I've heard that some religions don't accept female ministers. I'm not sure if thats still true or it has been changed. But that alone makes me even less of a fan. No offense to your faiths. Follow what you believe.

Also I'm not sure how to label the music I make, I guess its along the lines of alternativeish, or I dont know. Think bjorkish. I thought NYC was supposed to be good for all music genres no?

So that means teaching isnt a good plan B?

No teaching is not a growth industry. In case you have not noticed the demographics for children do not show massive increases in the near future. Furthermore the political tendency to demonize public schools in general, and teachers in particular, will undoubtedly lead to a shift of resources to alternative educational facilities. Charter schools, religious schools, for-profit schools etc. have a major advantage of being able to cherry-pick if not only highly talented students at least students with motivated parents, which makes teaching there potentially less frustrating. They also have the ability to more freely hire and fire teachers with the consequence that they can claim to offer only highly qualified teachers, and more importantly to them, offer really low wages and no job security. Teaching degrees are notoriously easy to obtain, but the days when well paid teaching jobs are easy to find are pretty much over. If you do decide to become a teacher in the public schools, be sure you manage to become fluent in Spanish. That way you will have a useful skill with which to compete with the experienced art teachers and music teachers who have been told they will have to start teaching another subject after their department is closed for budgetary reasons.

Some people undoubtedly do find paid work that they love. Most people do not, that is why they call it work. Many people eventually come to hate the jobs they were sure they would love. In any case, it would be wiser to choose the least expensive "training" for your dream job. That way you will not find yourself working extra years at a job that pays to cover the bills for training in a job that never comes along. Unless you are planning a career in law or business administration, (fields where the graduate school reputation mystique can lead to millions of dollars difference in your lifetime income) the school you graduate from will not matter that much. Traditionally fun jobs like animator, artist, musician, mountaineering guide, dancer, acting etc. are a more reliable source of income for the few people who can get jobs teaching in the field than for their students.

If I've learned anything (and that's highly questionable), it's that it's more important to be who you want to be than to do what you want to do.  There are many things one can do in life.  Depending on your goals, you will have to make choices and sacrifices.  Some of those, you might be unwilling to make.  At that point, you'll have to choose which way you're going to go.  However, even if you (like so many of us) find that you're unable to do everything you want to do in life, you can still be the person you want to be.  That is priceless.

If you can be content with yourself, what you do in life can be secondary.  Whether or not you find economic success (whatever that is) in music, you can still live a rich and fulfilling life.  There are far too many artists who sacrifice everything and everyone around them for their art only to end up in misery.  Some are miserable in the midst of their success.  If you find contentment regardless of your circumstances, you are already rich beyond your wildest dreams.

I hope that helps.  Really.

Hey Vil, there's a lot of good advice here, these guys know of what they speak. Another thing to add of that is, if you're interested in having children and raising a family, the life of a working musician (that is, you're gone a lot) can be pretty hard on the relationships.  Just another thing for your "thinker."

Oh, and "religion-wise..."  - I'm clergy. I'm not into "religion" either - it's different from faith, which is very important to me.  There are denominational bodies who do welcome women in ministry.  If this is something that interests you, PM me and I'd be happy to give you some places to find more information.  Just trying to help, nothing more.

Peace.

UbiquitousBubba


If I've learned anything (and that's highly questionable), it's that it's more important to be who you want to be than to do what you want to do.  There are many things one can do in life.  Depending on your goals, you will have to make choices and sacrifices.  Some of those, you might be unwilling to make.  At that point, you'll have to choose which way you're going to go.  However, even if you (like so many of us) find that you're unable to do everything you want to do in life, you can still be the person you want to be.  That is priceless.

If you can be content with yourself, what you do in life can be secondary.  Whether or not you find economic success (whatever that is) in music, you can still live a rich and fulfilling life.  There are far too many artists who sacrifice everything and everyone around them for their art only to end up in misery.  Some are miserable in the midst of their success.  If you find contentment regardless of your circumstances, you are already rich beyond your wildest dreams.

I hope that helps.  Really.

+++++++++++++++++++1

Maybe I do have a little bit of advice.  I suggest calling a few of your local project studios and having a chat with the owner and/or the engineers.  Tell them your situation and ask if you could observe a session or two.  You might even volunteer to help out--like an intern.  That will give you some first hand experience and give you an idea if music is really what you want to do.  Remember to take the proper precautions so you don't endanger your welfare or your security.  Most studio owners are good people, but there are a few bad apples out there. 

There are many jobs in the music business that aren't about performing, you may find that you're interested in one of them instead of performing.  Unfortunately, most of them are under the same economic pressures(down-sizing, etc.) and can be very hard to find.  Sadly, the only ones making money right now are the lawyers. 

Good luck.

Here in NC, they (the do gooders and govt officials) went on a MADD inspired DWI spree, upping the fines and penalties while lowering the blood alcohol levels required to be considered drunk behind the wheel.

The bar scene and the music business died overnight.

Now, the few clubs that book bands, and the limited number of working bands are having a hard time staying in business. Most bands, as was mentioned, are now having fewer gigs.... sometimes only about half a dozen or so a year.  And glad to get them.

Guitarhacker


Here in NC, they (the do gooders and govt officials) went on a MADD inspired DWI spree, upping the fines and penalties while lowering the blood alcohol levels required to be considered drunk behind the wheel.

The bar scene and the music business died overnight.

Now, the few clubs that book bands, and the limited number of working bands are having a hard time staying in business. Most bands, as was mentioned, are now having fewer gigs.... sometimes only about half a dozen or so a year.  And glad to get them.

Yeah, that stuff is no longer just a punishment for doing something wrong.  It's revenue!  If they can't raise taxes, they'll find the money elsewhere--even if it kill the entertainment industry.