Music Ed...

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Well, to put it shortly and sweetly: I love band. Band is everything to me. If I could, I would take no other classes than band and practice all day. The highlights of my day are going into band and site-reading pieces, marching (in the fall), and practicing.</p>

<p>I consider myself talented, too. I'm just a sophomore, but I auditioned and got into my school's Symphonic Band. I'm one of three underclassmen, and the rest of the class (about 45-50) is upperclassmen. I made alternate Tenor Sax for the All-State band (and I would've made higher if I could control my nerves), and I'm in the school's Jazz Band.</p>

<p>On top of my love of band, I love Drum Corps. Marching for a World Class DCI Drum Corps is my dream right now. I'm practicing trumpet right now (my 3rd instrument if you count Sax as one instrument, my 6th if you put Soprano, Bari, Alto, and Tenor Saxophones as separate instruments) in the hopes of auditioning for a drum corps when I graduate high school. I just love the atmosphere of drum corps, the music, the tour, the insane rehearsal schedule, the history, everything.</p>

<p>With all of this considered, I've really thought about going into Music Ed for college. The only thing that deters me from a Music degree is the job market/salary. I'm not the kind of person that wants to make $100k per year, but I want to be able to sustain a living debt-free without having to be super strict on my money.</p>

<p>Also, I'm not sure my parents will support me in a music degree. While I would love the idea of running a high school band program (and all of the micromanaging, like money, uniforms, music, etc.), and I would love the opportunity to teach high-schoolers, I just don't know if I could get my parents to pay for that.</p>

<p>And then there's the job market. I don't care about moving; I'll move ANYWHERE. But I don't want to work in, say, Compton, where the kids are thugs and so are the rest of the citizens (yeah, I'm generalizing).</p>

<p>So with all of this, do you think I should major in Music Education? Does anyone have any stories, thoughts, anything?</p>

2

<p>Ode, I'll redirect you to cc's music major forum and a couple of music ed threads there. Please spend some time there, as you'll get a broad perspective from both parent and students in a cross section of the best music programs in this hemisphere. My son is a professionally performing musician who originally embarked on a dual degree (performance/ed). I'm intimately familiar with both aspects.</p>

<p>You'll need to be competitive academically and talent wise for most programs, as most are audition based admits with a strong focus on academic standards as well. These do vary by school.</p>

<p>Have you had any experience teaching, either as an instructor, section coach, one on one, and do you ENJOY it (or at least THINK you will)?</p>

<p>Do you consider yourself a performer and does that drive you? Many are unsure, and lean to ed, or performance, or will try to do both. You don't have to answer this now, but think about what drives you.</p>

<p>A career in music ed can be extremely fulfilling, and you can nail $100k and above in certain districts/areas as a department chair with extra curricular duties after a number of years. It can also be dismal in a poorly supported district, and in times of economic/budgetary constraints, the arts programs are often the first to get cut.</p>

<p>It IS a four year liberal arts degree, and will position you for the same (entry level) jobs that any liberal arts degree holder would apply for, if you choose not to teach.</p>

<p>Your most cost effective means of achieving a straight music ed degree is normally your state system, where you can take advantage of in-state tuition. Most states provide excellent programs through their flagship or a dedicated teachers college. The curriculum is geared to meeting that state's certification requirements (there are no national standards), but cross certification between states is usually not a major issue.</p>

<p>There's a lot to cover. Many of these points are addressed in the posts below. If you are unfamiliar with the music admissions process, I'd suggest reading this post first <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-family-s-experience.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-family-s-experience.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>And this one for some various career perspectives:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/460187-how-many-music-voice-performance-majors-find-jobs.html?highlight=music%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/460187-how-many-music-voice-performance-majors-find-jobs.html?highlight=music&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Some background music ed threads:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/516829-music-education-careers.html?highlight=music+education%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/516829-music-education-careers.html?highlight=music+education&lt;/a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/469377-music-education.html?highlight=music+education%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/469377-music-education.html?highlight=music+education&lt;/a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/442759-music-education-major-trying-out-vocal-dilemma.html?highlight=music+education%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/442759-music-education-major-trying-out-vocal-dilemma.html?highlight=music+education&lt;/a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/402835-music-education-transfer.html?highlight=music+education%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/402835-music-education-transfer.html?highlight=music+education&lt;/a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/223274-music-education-schools.html?highlight=music+education%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/223274-music-education-schools.html?highlight=music+education&lt;/a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/558603-what-can-i-do-music-ed-minor.html?highlight=music%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/558603-what-can-i-do-music-ed-minor.html?highlight=music&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Feel free to post additional questions in the music major forum, or you can PM me.</p>

<p>Edit: This one, <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/558202-question-student-parents-aren-t-her-own.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/558202-question-student-parents-aren-t-her-own.html&lt;/a> although tangential has a very good music/music ed component beginning around post #35. It's well worth a read for different perspectives and general knowledge.</p>