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I am giving advice to a young scholar finishing high school; very talented in the music field. Scholar is finishing high school by the middle of next year and has been accepted at the university.
Thinking about the future, I understand that most of the jobs in Music are in NY, LA, Chicago, Vegas, Nashville, etc. Unless you already live there, you have to figure out how to move there. I assume that It may be a bit challenging to move and sustain your living expenses, if you are just getting out of college.
Would it make sense to go first after a 2 yr tech career in the community college (e.g., physical therapy, occupational therapy, etc) something that you can make 40-50/K per year? and then going to college for another 4 years to get that Music Degree. At the current age, the young scholar would be 18 yr + 2 yr of community college + 4 yr of university = 24 years of age and be better positioned to pursue a career in Music. If Music for whatever reason does not work, the scholar can fall back on the tech degree.
Most jobs in music are in teaching music; and the midwest is actually pretty strong for jobs in music education..
What is this student's instrument/specialization? For some instruments, a 2-year gap in education at age 18-20 might be very counterproductive.
I am giving advice to a young scholar finishing high school; very talented in the music field. Scholar is finishing high school by the middle of next year and has been accepted at the university.
Thinking about the future, I understand that most of the jobs in Music are in NY, LA, Chicago, Vegas, Nashville, etc. Unless you already live there, you have to figure out how to move there. I assume that It may be a bit challenging to move and sustain your living expenses, if you are just getting out of college.
Would it make sense to go first after a 2 yr tech career in the community college (e.g., physical therapy, occupational therapy, etc) something that you can make 40-50/K per year? and then going to college for another 4 years to get that Music Degree. At the current age, the young scholar would be 18 yr + 2 yr of community college + 4 yr of university = 24 years of age and be better positioned to pursue a career in Music. If Music for whatever reason does not work, the scholar can fall back on the tech degree.
Any thoughts
I'm not sure it makes sense. I don't think you can get a two year degree in the things you mentioned and actually make money. All the physical therapists I know have MD's or PhD's or both. I think the two year program will probably lead to pt assistant or something. So then he'll finish the program and do what, go straight to college for music? It makes no sense. He now has a certificate of some kind that he may or may not be able to use, but isn't even going to try to use, and which will probably be expired or useless after 4 years of a music degree. So when he graduates with a music degree and doesn't make any money, then he really can't go and use that old two year certificate. Also, those areas you mentioned have nothing to do with music - he would need to abandon it completely to work in those fields and his studies might not even leave time for music.
So realistically, it doesn't make sense. I think a better course, if he wants to hedge his bets with music, is to go to a four year college and get a degree in music education or maybe just education with an endorsement in music. Music endorsements are not really the most marketable teaching degree, but it's something. He might also be able to get a regular teaching certificate in something else and then add on music later, maybe do a double major or minor, etc. With planning it should be possible to be certified to teach music and something else. Then he stays close to music no matter what. Plus, during his college time he can still be involved with music and will be able to participate as part of his course of study, not just as a sideline.
Generally I would advocate avoiding a liberal arts or fine arts field, but if he's that good at music even I would not advise him to spend an extra two years in community college getting a completely separate degree. I might advise choosing a different major in a four year college, but the extra two years idea sounds terrible. In any case, most colleges give students 2 years to declare a major, so he'll have time to think about it. Even a double major at the four year college would be a better idea.
The scholar wants to become a composer of Music and plays several instruments. I just learned that the community college offers a Field of Study in Music (AA) degree, leading to the bachelor of music degree. Does it make a difference if you do 2 yr of music at the community college and then transfer to the university for another 2 years. Is this a better scenario. The tuition at the university is not cheap, i.e., $4000 vs $800 at the community college. The scholar currently works part time in a pharmacy making $8/hour about $ 500 per month; wants to avoid student loans. For reference SAT, 1500. Not in the top tier, scholarship money may not be there. GPA 3.5 and 15% of class.
An important question with a music AA is whether or not the program includes lessons and ensembles. At a 4-year school, that will be an integral part of a music performance or music education degree; and losing that could hurt (and considering the cost of private lessons with a university faculty member, probably well worth the $3200 different).
Is he going to a conservatory, or a typical college that will have other programs besides the arts?
If the latter, I suggest he either double major or at least pick up a minor in another field. This is what I did (BA in music, with a minor in comp sci) and employment was never a problem. Plus years later it allowed me to go back to graduate school in engineering, which I wouldn't have been able to do with just the BA.
I would not recommend spending six years in school just to get a BA and some sort of tech certif or associates. There are many better options if one is willing to study continuously from age 18-24.
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