<p>No. I wanted to be a musician, and had no money. Even if I did have money, those with Masters from Julliard were unemployed (flute performance majors). My dad said, go into engineering and the after you get your degree and get on your feet, then go do what you want to do. Well, now age 40, I am doing music. Never did let it go, but it was not my main focus until later in life. You can always do music or the arts on the side; and take science courses. Math Science and the Fine Arts DO mix very well. Best go into the sciences and use your artistic talent in that field. Just look at apple, the I Phone the I Pad - all creative applied art using science and technology. I now know SO many fantastic musicians that cannot make a dime. Many that make it in music never took a course or lessons in their life.</p>
<p>This is a really interesting conversation. An education is of course meant to serve you for a whole life not merely a career. The greeks thought of it as a means of developing character, leadership, and other qualities they thought would lead to the Good life. But at these prices, they definitely have to be seen as an investment. I think the focus of delaying life for years beyond high school is detrimental to all. I know successful and unsuccessful people in all walks of life (investment banking, accounting, doctors attorney, artists, writers, teachers, etc), and where they went to school or what they studied does not correlate highly with their success in their chosen field. What does, at least anecdotally, seem to matter is wether the person had a burning desire to make it in the field. When they have that they make success happen.</p>
<p>You need desire, talent, luck and a lot of hard work. If you miss any of the above qualities you will not obtain success or maintain in for too long. An education is important, but I have found out that even in State school you can have a good education if you use all the resources available to you. With new technologies like the Internet, Cursera, Kahn Academy, knowledge is out there to be grabbed. Parents for sure need to be clear about their college budget with their kids they can plan ahead and maybe have a fighting chance for a scholarship or even set their minds for a CC or State school.</p>
<p>Interesting articleâŠ</p>
<p>[âHidden</a>â economy in Silicon Valley built without advanced degrees - San Jose Mercury News](<a href=ââHiddenâ economy in Silicon Valley built without advanced degrees â The Mercury Newsâ>âHiddenâ economy in Silicon Valley built without advanced degrees â The Mercury News)</p>
<p>Too bad many HS grads can not write a coherent paragraph or essay. Practical hands on common sense - often taught in the garage/sewing room/backyard at home is also a rare commodity.</p>
<p>And as for engineers as activistsâŠwhen a 4 year degree program is such that a student has exactly 40 discretionary units, when labs keep them buried for 15+ hours a week (and that does not account for in class time and homework hours), when the advice from the faculty member is "let everyone know at the end of your sophomore year you will be unavailable until the end of Junior year - yes itâs that toughâŠwell as the saying goesâŠthose in white lab coats donât have the luxury of free time to protest.</p>
<p>"So my question stands to Bellevue, as Iâm truly curious and donât mean it as a knock: âWhat did a 4 year BFA in Musical Theater cost, and what does Disney pay by comparison?â If the 4 year BFA was on a full scholarship and Disney is paying $40K/year, then itâs an amazing deal. If the 4-year BFA cost $220K at NYU and Disney is paying $8/hour to BFAâs or amazing high schoolers then it wasnât likely a great choiceâŠgiven that ultimately Iâm guessing 1 in 1000 Musical Theater majors end up âmaking it bigââŠand Iâm not considering love of theater or internal rewards or joy in giving back to an audience in this discussion. "</p>
<p>ivyparent43 - She did have scholarships, but the amount we paid for our daughterâs BFA most definitely exceeds her current income if weâre only talking dollars and cents. But, thatâs the big issue in this thread. How can you NOT consider âlove of theatre or internal rewards or joy in giving back to an audience?â How can you NOT consider passion??? She has been a performer her entire life and has never waivered from her desire to pursue Musical Theatre. She happens to also be academically gifted and could have been studying Mechanical Engineering at MIT as does her sister but that wasnât her passion. Disney doesnât pay performers (or most employees) well but she loves her job and loves Disney. She has amazing stories of âmagical momentsâ where her interaction with a guest made a remarkable impact on his/her life. Her degree and her experience at Disney will open doors for her. She will probably never perform on Broadway but thatâs not what every MT Major strives for. She is also skilled as a director, coach, costumer and make-up artist due to her education. She earned money during college tutoring math (She was an AP Scholar in HS and did especially well in math). She will always be able to âfall backâ on other jobs if she wants or needs to. But for now, she works very hard, loves it very much and has very little money. She has enough to support herself living 3000 miles from her parents so sheâs certainly not leaning on us. She knew what she was getting in to and she had (and still has) our full support.</p>
<p>Excellent answer, bellevuemom. Good for your D, good for you. Apparently not everyone realizes that intangible benefits can exist and matter just as much as the almighty dollar, maybe even more. A friend of mine took her kids to Disney through Make-A-Wish when one of them had a brain tumor. It was the highlight of the little girlâs life to talk to a real live Disney princess. Iâd love to see someone telling HER that what your D does doesnât count.</p>
<p>^^ Yes. If intangibles did not matter, I wonder if we would have any elementary school teachers in this country?? ;)</p>
<p>Actually, Collegefortwins, I didnât want to muddy my answer, but I was going to mention teachers, since thatâs my Dâs plan-to teach elementary education. At her 8th grade promotion ceremony the other night, the classâs team teachers from 6th and 7th grade were special guest speakers. They got a screaming standing ovation from the kids. Both of these teachers left high-paying tech jobs to teach in a public middle school. Iâll bet no one ever gave them a standing ovation for yet another line of code!</p>
<p>âIâll bet no one ever gave them a standing ovation for yet another line of code!â</p>
<p>It depends. Perhaps those teachers did not feel rewarded by their previous occupations, but people producing, âYet another line of code,â have been responsible for the vast number of technologies that have changed and improved our lives. Believe it or not, many people in the tech industry are passionate and creative, doing what they love, and making the rest of our lives better in many ways. Even those middle schoolers. Iâll give them a standing ovation for that.</p>