Hi all, I was hoping I could get some advice. I’m in my senior year as a Music Major (concentration in Audio Production) and I’ve come to realize it probably wasn’t the most realistic career path to take #-o I know the only job I could get that would be “reliable” would be to get a teaching degree/certificate along with the degree. I love music and playing/composing/producing it, but I don’t think I can expect to make a living off it anytime soon.
I’m considering changing my degree to a concentration in Business, and pursuing either marketing or something in that field. I live 15 minutes outside of NYC and there are so many opportunities for the job like that here. From my perspective now, commuting to the city (or moving there) and working at an office job honestly seems like a inspiring goal. I know it may sound odd, but the idea of working in a cubicle and an office environment sounds enjoyable to me. I have always been one to love being given projects/work to do on my own and then show my efforts.
Conversely, the idea of laboring away as a starving artist, to only be able to teach at a community college (If I’m lucky!) doesnt seem appealing to me at all. I want to live comfortably with a decently stable AND respectable job.
Working at my part-time job ( a condo/residential building in NYC), I see people my age (24 years old) going off to work to offices and law firms dressed in suits everyday. I cant help but think I’m on a dead end path, only to end up with a useless degree and no real career.
What should I do? Finish the Music Degree and then continue in the graduate path with something focused in Business? Would that be enough to get into a good office job in NYC? Or do I need to start over and get a bachelors in Business?
Anybody out there who is on a Business path/or who is in a similar situation, let me know!
Thank You
^You should “Finish the Music Degree and then continue in the graduate path with something focused in Business”
Thanks for the quick reply! How does it work when you get to graduate school though? Ive only taken an Intro To Business class, and that was in Sophomore year. How would I compete with people who did Business through out their undergraduate and then continue to get a Masters in it?
No, you should do neither of those things.
You can work in business - particularly marketing positions - without a business degree. I would wager that most of the people working in “business” in general don’t have busines undergraduate degrees - and fine arts, social sciences, humanities, and natural/physical sciences majors go into business positions all the time.
What you should do instead of either of those options is start looking at jobs that interest you and apply to them.
Most business degrees require experience anyway. (But you don’t need a business undergrad degree to get an MBA - what they will really value is your work experience.)
Great, thank you Juillet. That was really helpful and sounds like the right thing to do. I have to look for my senior year internship, so I’ll try applying to music-oriented jobs but also to any business/office jobs as well. Something in-between both music and business would probably be most ideal.
Thank you !
I think you need to look beyond the name of the major and see what marketable skills you’ve honed. Sometimes, eg, it’s project management, your ability to work with deadlines, trouble shoot, etc. Even cubicle work requires more than just plugging into a project.
No, you don’t need a biz degree to work in business. All those other majors J mentions are using more than what they learned in their classroom hours.
But I have to say, seeing people headed off for work doesn’t mean all are happy or their work is stable. Have you really looked at what opps might exist in audio production? Or is this a little senior year freeze? There may be ways to use what you’ve gained (including at that job) in the music industry, even in that cubicle. Does your school have a careers office? Are you on LinkedIn? (After you come up with the skills list, that is.)
@SteveBz, I did a similar thing to what you’re proposing. At the end of my junior year, I transferred schools and switched from a double astronomy/French major to an economics/finance major. I’m not sorry, but it did take me an extra year to graduate. That was not as big a deal in the late 80s as it is now, price-wise. I had tons of credits that my new school didn’t want (astrophysics requirements at a business school, anyone?). You’d run into the same thing with tons of extra music credits, I expect.
Have you looked into what the cost will be to you in time, classes, and money? If it’s only an extra few classes because you’ve got all your core classes satisfied and you just need to take a few upper level major classes, it may make sense. If you would need several years to get it done, it’s almost definitely not worth it.