Jobs You Can Get With a Music Degree

When I was in high school, I was always told that one of the worst majors a person could choose was in music, because all one could do with a music degree was teach music in school. That is not entirely true. I can attest to the fact, as many of my friends were music majors in college, that there are several different professions where a music degree can be utilized.

One of my friends said he wanted to teach, but not at school, and he certainly did not want to be a band director. He did not feel there was anything wrong with that, necessarily, but he felt that his music degree could be put to better use than trying to spread his knowledge out to 80 or 100 students. He always told me applauded those who could, but he wanted to work with young people on a more individual basis, so he became a different kind of teacher - a tutor.

He used his music degree and all the credentials he had developed to offer private lessons on the piano. He has done this for the last 20 years and makes a very handsome living doing so. I asked him one time if it has ever been hard for him to constantly do the same thing, and he assured me it was not. He said he loved watching children learn and said he never felt like he was working a real job. He could not imagine doing anything different and has built a nest egg for himself so large that he will be able to retire at the age of 55 and live quite comfortably for the rest of his life, if he so chooses.

Another friend of mine who has a music degree plays guitar, and out of college, he started picking up gigs. He loves jazz and blues, so he decided to move down to New Orleans and try to make a living there. He hooked up with some local musical acts and eventually built up a reputation for being a pretty good guitar player. He once told me that he could work every night of the week if he chose to do so, and he lives in a very nice apartment in the French Quarter.

Yet another friend of mine is a violinist. She got her music degree with the specific goal of joining a symphony orchestra, which she did within five years of graduating. With hard work, she moved up the line to become concert mistress, and said she spends her entire day doing what she loves to do most - playing and creating music.

These are just a few of the options for people with a music degree. I have always loved stories of people who disproved a negative stereotype, and all three of my friends have certainly done so!