<p>I'm a college senior, and like a lot of people in my position, I'm not sure what to do next. In the immediate future I'm going to grad school, but in the long term, I'm not quite sure of what would be the best path for me. My problem is that I love everything. I spent a lot of time working in a science lab (immunology/pathology) my sophomore year and I absolutely loved that. I wrote a long honor thesis on an interdisciplinary topic involving arts history and literature at the end of last year, loved that too. I spend a good amount of time every week reading SCOTUS Blog and HLR, and interned at a law school in HS, definitely love that too. I was your typical math kid, in love with the subject, doing problems for fun, went to a science HS. One of my parents is a computer scientist; I grew up watching them work so I do computer stuff to get extra money, and like that a lot, yet again. After deciding to turn down a couple Ivies, I'm now majoring in music performance at a top performing arts school, and having a lot of fun doing that. I graduated from HS at 16, and stayed at home practicing my instrument, learning a language, reading a lot, until I was 18. My sibling was already in college so it worked out better that way money-wise). I basically feel thirsty for knowledge. I can't think of anything I find boring. I truly love all these fields that I've had opportunities to explore a little bit. I think I could truly love literally everything. You know that feeling when you are grocery shopping on an empty stomach, and you think that everything in the store will taste great, but that nothing could quite be enough to satisfy your hunger? I'm desperate for a career that is going to incorporate at least a couple of these things that I like learning about (and classical music will have to be a big part of it), but does that even exist? Do you know any serious musicians that have had such careers?</p>
<p>Perhaps you should consider starting something - an ensemble, a school, a program for underprivileged kids - like El Sistema, getting involved in arts administration, getting involved with a nonprofit that funds the arts, coming up with an app that would be terrific for musicians, starting a national magazine on the arts, starting a software company that has something to do with music, and so forth. In other words - you sound like a dreamer who can make things happen. Dream up something that you think would make the world a better place, then make it a reality. You seem to me the kind of person who can do that. Don’t set limits on yourself.</p>
<p>Thank you so much! I did have some thoughts about it last year, but couldn’t quite come up with an articulate and realistic idea or plan.</p>
<p>You seem like an incredible human being. What I like best about your post is that you are bursting with enthusiasm and love for all of these disciplines, not that you are merely good at them, but that you love them. I think you should do everything SpiritManager says, and more. </p>
<p>Don’t forget that you can pursue interests the rest of your life, no matter what you do to support yourself. You may need to try out some different paths. Saw a great cartoon that showed graphically that life is squiggles, not straight lines. Patience is hard when you have a lot of energy (I once read that young people have maximum energy and minimum direction, while older folks have the reverse- feels right to me!). Let yourself stay open without over planning but grab the opportunities. Sorry for platitudes but they are true 
I have a feeling you will find your way.</p>
<p>I understand where you are coming from. I am somebody who has a wide range of interests and passions and I struggled to try to combine them all. And being rather ADD I never seemed to settle. I was lucky because my initial career after graduating college gave me an opportunity and freedom to work with at a University and that allowed me to keep in touch with a range of interests and professions. What is interesting is that each of my three kids is following one of my passions, but to the next level. One thing that I admire about them is that even though they also have diverse interests they have picked one area and worked hard to develop mastery in that area with an eye on the long-game in terms of career. Watching them I think that one reason I liked to dabble but failed to commit to a direction was fear. At a certain point no matter what interests you pursue and no matter how talented you are, things get hard and challenging. For polymaths it is easy to abandon the hard for another subject or interests and then do that for a bit. The bouncing around from interest to interest becomes an excuse for not wanting to work to overcome the “Hump” that exists when attempting to achieve mastery or take something to the next level.</p>
<p>There are a myriad of ways to combine music with math and computers. Oberlin and Stanford have some of the best programs in this area. In the same vein you could take your interest in history and literature and language and science and become a playwright or work in the theater. Shakespeare was the ultimate polymath and his plays are filled with references to the sophisticated topics and issues in his day. </p>
<p>As other’s mentioned there are also administrative jobs, such as the head of a major arts organization, which often need somebody with diverse skills and knowledge to fill. </p>
<p>My husband is also somebody with diverse interests and skills. He finally settled on a career that keeps him in touch with a wide range of exceptionally bright people. So although his work is not always interesting, he gets to spend time with brilliant lawyers, scientists, artists, doctors etc….</p>
<p>Check out Brown’s MEME Program, , Dartmouth’s Digital Arts Program, The School of the Chicago Institute of Art, Cal Arts, Bard’s MFA program and some of Princeton or Harvard’s grad programs in music. All these options give you ample opportunity to combine music with technology, computers and math, and also explore the arts and literature. Also, grad cafe has a threat on interdisciplinary work with music and art history that is quite helpful. thegradcafe.com.</p>
<p>All great suggestions above. 2 specific vocations that popped into my head while reading the above was Film Maker, such as documentaries, and Intellectual Property Attorney. Also, Robert Gupta, a violinist with the LA Phil, has a co-career as a Neuroscientist and Mental Health activist/researcher. He is interested in music and the mind. <a href=“http://www.ted.com/speakers/robert_gupta”>http://www.ted.com/speakers/robert_gupta</a> He is a very nice person and does a lot in the community. There is also a Canadian symphony violinist who doubles as an ER Physician, another option: <a href=“http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=27fa1832-4cdc-4a63-929f-d7d6d086b36d”>http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=27fa1832-4cdc-4a63-929f-d7d6d086b36d</a>
I know there are lots of other people out there who are doing co-careers, but not sure if this is what you had in mind vs one blended career.</p>
<p>I noticed Dartmouth’s Digital Arts program has quite a few people with focus on neuroscience and cognition etc. </p>
<p>Acoustics is another area to look into if you like both music and science.</p>
<p>I am a Gemini and always liked a caution I read once, to be “versatile” not “scattered”! Sounds like you are already there…</p>
<p>I think there are a lot of options, but being a polymath is a challenge in that it can be hard to focus on things, or put it all together:). That said, having multiple passions is not a bad thing and there will be ways to put it all together. It probably will mean not following a standard course of things, though the story of Robert Gupta and the Canadian violinist as a doctor who suggests you can follow a more traditional path (going into a symphony) and doing other things. Computers and music is a big field, and there also is a burgeoning field that studies music and the brain, people like Daniel Lativin (“Your Brain on Music”), or the parent of a fellow music student my son knew who is a well known neurologist (and is also musical as heck), who is now heading up an institute dedicated to music related neurological issues, like dystonia…;lots of ways you could combine things. </p>
<p>Thank you very much for your advice. Very excited to start exploring all these links and read more about the people you mentioned. It’s so great to hear that there are definitely professionals with mutifaceted careers and that it’s not considered peculiar in itself.</p>