I know a lot of super artsy talented people from their mid 20s to about 40 who went to top schools. Some have made it. A surprising number had early successes which they couldn’t sustain. One notable case was a big success, floundered a bit and became a high school teacher, but kept plugging at her dream, and seems poised to have her career really take off. There are some grad programs in these fields which help, but you usually have to have at least some demonstrated success to get into them. Here’s a link to one of the best. http://tisch.nyu.edu/grad-musical-theatre-writing
Sometimes I think half the English and arts faculties at NY private schools fall into these categories. My offspring’s public school alma mater has a “rep” for giving its own grads struggling to make it jobs.My neighborhood has a local community theatre and it employs some very talented “wannabes” and “never quite made its” as instructors. The current overall “boss”–not sure of his title–was in Rent on Broadway for a lot of years. Not one of the "big roles’’ but not just ensemble either.
A very common “paying the bills” job for these “kids” is working for Kaplan or some other test-prep company.
One of my D’s childhood friends is a singer-songwriter. Her “day job” is as a recording “engineer.” She used to run a recording studio in Brooklyn. A lot of fairly famous people recorded there and that helped make contacts. Nowadays, most of her success involves writing songs for movies. Her only degree is from SUNY. She’s not famous, but I’m sure almost everyone on this board has heard one or more songs she wrote.
We had a really talented singer in our neighborhood who has been in several Broadway shows. She got her only degree in accounting. For a lot of years, she worked for Account Temps. She took short term assignments which allowed her to pay the bills while still auditioning.
Two of the more talented “kids” I know who gave up after trying for a number of years are now working at consulting firms. One was a double major in math and physics but spent all his undergrad years directing plays.
I don’t know if this helps…but I don’t think the young man should be rushing into a grad program. He should be getting involved in Hasty Pudding, Harvard Lampoon to network, getting internships etc.
Of course, a Harvard graduate may be more likely to have the option of working as an investment banker or management consultant for a few years, compared to the graduate of most universities.
Yes, but if you’re trying to make it into the entertainment business, working in investment banking or management consulting is probably not a good game plan. You have to put in too many hours to have time to pursue your dreams.
Seriously, IMO, the best thing he can do is get involved with the music/creative scene at Harvard and become good friends with those a couple of years older. It’s all about networking.
@Jonri and others who have emphasized networking: YES. Whether or not you plan to earn an advanced degree, which may serve more as an added credential and a further networking opportunity than training per se, many – perhaps most – career movements are based on your ability, skills, reputation, and contacts, not on your undergraduate college credential itself. Sometimes an advanced degree can serve as a career switcher or enhancer, as it did when my daughter added an MBA to her BFA, with a focus on sustainable design. Sometimes an advanced degree is superfluous, as it would have been for my son, who, after attending an excellent private university (majored in economics), gave thought to a law degree and doctoral degree but instead followed strong personal and intellectual interests, and developed his own reputation and contacts after finishing college. He’s now making an excellent career in journalism (with no journalism or media degree).
In the spring of 2013, Swarthmore surveyed its alums from the classes of 1994, 1998, 2002, 2008, and 2012. In the class of 2008, 75% either had earned or were currently pursuing advanced degrees 5 years after graduation. That percentage increased with each earlier class to a high of 90% for the class of 1994. These figures are probably higher for Swarthmore than for most other elite schools, but it’s broadly consistent with the figure cited by other posters that about 3/4 of Harvard alums eventually pursue advanced degrees. That doesn’t mean 75% go straight to grad school, however. Many work for a year, or several. A majority of students in top law schools work for a while before attending law school. That’s probably even more true in top MBA programs, where actual business experience is generally viewed as an admissions credential. Many delay grad school by design; at graduation, they plan to enroll in grad school at some point in the future, but either want a break from academia or want to pursue particular job opportunities, or both, until they’re “ready” for grad school. In other cases alums initially don’t intend to pursue graduate degrees, but fall back on graduate education when a first career doesn’t pan out, or proves less interesting than initially imagined, or they want to re-tool with particular skills and credentials, or they’re seeking to enhance their earning power.
Given all that, I don’t think it’s a big deal for a newly minted alum of an elite college not to go straight to graduate school. Most don’t do so immediately, but most will eventually, and for those who never pursue graduate degrees, it’s usually because they’ve managed to carve out successful careers doing something that at least supports them and in many cases they want to make their life’s work. Graduate school is always there to fall back on if things don’t work out in the music industry.
These days, if one is interested in pursuing a phd in the sciences or going to med school, it’s best to get a year or two of research since most applicants will have that on their CVs.
Depends upon your GPA and MCAT. If those are both high it’s very helpful but not a deal breaker. If you are border line on those two you need all the help you can get. If you don’t have research you need some hospital volunteering – serious type and significant hours.
When my D graduated from a top school in 2011, there weren’t many jobs available. Many of her classmates went to grad or law school because they didn’t have anything else lined up. She wasn’t interested in going to school right away, since she didn’t really have an idea what she would end up doing in terms of a career. Four years later, she still hasn’t gone to grad school … her career is going really well, so there isn’t a need for it right now. She is open to the idea, and it may be in the cards down the road … but she does prove that not “everyone” from a top school goes to grad school (granted, it wasn’t Harvard …).
D actually wanted to be in the entertainment industry, and she interned & networked throughout undergrad. In the end, she realized it wasn’t really for her … too cut-throat and unpredictable for her. She was so upset when she made the decision not to pursue that path - thought she had “wasted so much time” - but the truth is, we don’t know whether or not something is for us until we are right in the thick of it. Internships really do help a young person to see what the business is like & decide if it’s for them.
The students I know in the LA area who get into entertainment often get jobs at a talent agent. CAA pays $12 an hour no matter where you got your degree. Some will continue on as they are interested in being an agent, but many will get jobs in production companies from the contacts they make. Of three I know one jumped very quickly, one less pushy ambitious type did say a bit long but is at an excellent successful company as a producer’s assistant and is reading scripts among other things. Another student I know who didn’t go that route go great internships in HS and got a producer’s asst job on an HBO show out of college and seems to be developing shows for a major tv player now. And a Harvard sociology grad in my dd’s HS class when to Google people side out of college.
Computer science grads can get intellectually satisfying jobs without grad school right after college. We’ll see what gifted son eventually does. Having a STEM PhD is no guarantee of a job- even with U Chicago/MIT in one’s CV.
Those Harvard stats show that going to an elite college/u does not automatically mean grad school- ever. Many of the smartest, most well educated will have gone elsewhere as undergrads- look at the CV’s of the elite college professors.
What to do, where to go depends on one’s major. Most good music performance majors will not make a living at that- there isn’t enough demand. But- they make work within the field. College is an education, not just job preparation.