<p>I’m fine with any major and am thankfully in a position to pay for a good portion of their costs. I will gladly pay so long as they apply themselves properly enough in school. They do not need a 4.0 but I want them to study enough to get the grades they are capable of getting and I understand their outside pursuits and part-time work can affect their grades. What I don’t want is them frittering most of their time(some frittering is fine) and my money away, getting drunk every night and then not showing up to class cause they’re hungover, etc.</p>
<p>muaythaiguy—D’s first job, which she took before going off to grad school for her MM, was writing proposals for a civil engineering firm. This employer intentionally hired BM grads because of their work ethic and their capacity to think on their feet. That was the last non music job she has had. And she has been working full time since her MM.
I understand that you are young but know this: It’s a big world beyond the deli counter and virtually ANY major will “leave you about as employable as a high school graduate” if you do not apply yourself or work at what you do best.
Good luck.</p>
<p>muaythai, anything is possible, but is it wise? She’s typically spending a minimum of about 60 hours a week on school work most semesters. I think it would be unwise for her to add any more. One has to eat, sleep and have a little down-time. I would be concerned that her grades and her performance, not to mention her health, would begin to suffer.</p>
<p>@crom, I find it hard to believe that she has 60 hours per week as a music major. I played piano for 10 years and I don’t have any recollections of its being that hard.</p>
<p>Playing piano as an extra curricular activity is far different than majoring in music.</p>
<p>Ah… to be 18 and know everything. Remember that feeling parents?</p>
<p>I suppose it is, whenhen. I would also like to clarify that I am not demeaning arts majors in any way (I am an arts double major myself with econ and math). I just think that we need to think about the job market realistically. It seems like a frightening proposition to me to go out into the job market without employable skills and the essential equivalent of a HS diploma.</p>
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<p>It has nothing to do with me… be careful not to stray into the genetic fallacy. The average music major starts out at about $34,000 per year. This agrees with what I have been saying.</p>
<p>[10</a> lowest paying college majors - DailyFinance](<a href=“Stock Portfolio & Tracker - Yahoo Finance”>Stock Portfolio & Tracker - Yahoo Finance)</p>
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<p>Hear hear. I’ve heard the horror stories about dead end deli jobs, but the kids I know who have graduated with liberal arts degrees are doing just fine in a variety of jobs-- The neuroscience major from Yale now working at Google; the IR major from Carleton working for a hi-tech company; the art history major from Hamilton working for a legal services firm; the history major from Brown working for a HR consulting company; the English major from UC Santa Cruz working for an investment marketing company; the Asian studies major from Brown working for OKCupid.</p>
<p>It’s a big world out there. I’m pretty confident that smart, high achieving kids will continue to be successful beyond college regardless of their major.</p>
<p>Ummmm…muaythai…</p>
<p>I broke it down for you. Add it up, you’re a math major. Be sure to keep in mind the words “minimum” and “opera practice every night”, that’s EASILY another 10 hours a week MINIMUM. When I say every night, I don’t mean Monday through Friday…I mean EVERY NIGHT.</p>
<p>I get that you find it hard to believe. But I’m not lying, and she’s not unique for music majors. MANY of them have this kind of schedule.</p>
<p>Also we all are VERY AWARE of the starting salary for music majors. She didn’t go into it blind. She went into it because she’s passionate about music and about teaching music to others. BTW, starting pay for high school choral directors is about $43,000…not much, and it never really gets a whole heck of a lot higher. But it’s what she loves, and she could not imagine doing anything different.</p>
<p>My parents tried to force me to become an engineer; there was nothing that infuriated me more. I am of the same belief that we need to do what we enjoy in life despite the money.</p>
<p>My contention here is that the chance of getting directly in music doesn’t appear to be high. Therefore, if you get a music degree, you could very well be left with an entry level job that you hate and that pays low. Tell me why I am wrong, cromme.</p>
<p>If my future kid wants to go into anthropology because he loves it, I’m perfectly fine with that. He had better be going to grad school though, or he’ll end up in an entry level job that has nothing to do with anthropology.</p>
<p>What a sad world it would be if we didn’t have musicians, writers, film makers and actors. I find it amazing that despite many studies that show that children who have arts education in their schools by and large do better than those who don’t, there are people who would not help a child of theirs actually go on to STUDY the arts. We don’t need ONLY engineers, doctors and ibankers. We NEED creative types who can do other things besides make lots of money. </p>
<p>And muaythaiguy18-your coworker is selling himself short. As someone who speaks two languages, there are many options for him, from translating at almost any business that works with immigrant populations, to working as a tour guide, to going on and getting a graduate degree in international relations. My niece had a triple major, two of them being in French and Spanish. She is a teacher, but had the directors of several other departments following her around begging her to go to grad school in their areas of study.</p>
<p>Muay…sure a double major is possible, but often takes more than four years to complete. Music majors take a LOT of one credit courses that meet four or five times a WEEK (required ensembles), thus consuming time where courses for another major could be taken.</p>
<p>My daughter (the engineering major) did a double major in biology with no trouble at all, except she did take classes one summer in order to graduate within the four year time.</p>
<p>Muay…do you have a musician or fine arts major in your family? Their crafts are not easy ones. Most KNOW they will never be rich and famous. But telling them they HAVE to double major is, in my opinion, not something that is necessary. Many students go to grad or professional school these days, and a music degree does not preclude a student from future study in a different field IF they so choose!</p>
<p>You have to evaluate your child, your local market and what’s right for the individual. In the case of my D, it is HIGHLY probable that she will get a director’s position locally making $43,000 right out of college. Our area is great for that. If not, she will teach beginning piano and voice and get another job (she’s been working since she was 16) until something better comes along. She will eventually get a teaching position. Pretty sure of that. We know the market and the area.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your responses - I read all of them and it’s really interesting to see different perspectives.</p>
<p>I like blossom’s, about how you never know what’s going to be a “winner” or “loser” when your son or daughter graduates college. When I was in college, consulting and finance and investment banking were the hot fields. Everyone was majoring in business with a concentration in one of those fields, because you could go straight to Wall Street and make $75,000 out of the box. People were planning to work on Wall Street for 2-3 years to pay down their loans and then do something else. But I graduated college the same year the financial industry went bust - and suddenly, getting those jobs wasn’t so easy anymore.</p>
<p>Muaythaiguy18, that’s true of many different fields. I think another thread was explaining that really what gets you a job isn’t just your major but your experiences. A music major who does two marketing internships over the summer may get a job in marketing even with the music major - maybe even music industry marketing/advertising. A music major who starts performing in gigs and making networks during college may very well find their way into the field. There are other professional majors where it’s really difficult to find jobs now, too - like architecture, for example. And a lot of jobs are major-free or don’t require a specific one. I supervised college students for 2 years, most of them seniors, and all of them were doing something after college, including the philosophy major and the English/music double major.</p>
<p>My DD is a dance major and an Adaptive Physical Activity Minor. I almost wish she would focus just on the dance but she has a passion to work with individuals with disabilities in addition to dance. She would like to first perform, cruise ship, resort, etc and later on have a dance studio with a focus on special needs individuals. She is on track to have a Master’s degree in APA by the summer of her senior year. She is taking 20 credits per semester and has a GPA of 3.9. I want her to enjoy what she is doing. Her Dad was told he would not receive any help from the family if he did not major in engineering or computer science and while he is quite successful he also has a passion for theatre and playwriting. He is so supportive of our DD to do what makes her happy.</p>
<p>Muay…you could have a degree in economics or math and find yourself with a minimum wage job or temp work when you graduate. No different than any other major!</p>
<p>It is soooo subjective. Before my daughter went into college, my husband asked her what she wanted to study. She said she didn’t know. She’s a very strong student, academically, and has always been a hard worker. She could do pretty much anything she wanted to. </p>
<p>But I said, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Can you honestly see yourself doing ANYTHING besides teaching music for the rest of your life?”</p>
<p>She smiled and said, “No, I just didn’t think you guys would go for that.” How could we not?</p>
<p>That sounds reasonable, julliet. I am not here with blinders on to argue a close-minded position. </p>
<p>I am wondering why if what you say is true, music majors only earn $3000 more per year starting out than people with only high school diplomas.</p>
<p>[High</a> School Diploma Salaries | Simply Hired](<a href=“http://www.simplyhired.com/a/salary/search/q-high+school+diploma]High”>http://www.simplyhired.com/a/salary/search/q-high+school+diploma)</p>
<p>@Thumper, I am going for a PhD in economics. I suppose it’s true that anything could happen, but economics is one of the highest paying majors, and I intend to go further than undergrad.</p>