Help - To Major In Music... Or Not

StacJip
Sun, 28 Jun 2015 12:09:12 +0000

I find it interesting when I hear high school students talk about “Financial Stability” because I am not sure they really understand what it means. What does it mean to be financially stable for your generation? I am not sure anyone knows. Gone are the days when one could go work for a corporation and be sure you would have health insurance and retirement. These days even those with advanced skills in hot fields such as biochemistry and computer science struggle to find financial security. So much depends on your expectations and what you grew up with. I know teachers who make very modest incomes but who are extremely happy with what they have, while I know people in high tech who always feel they are poor because they compare themselves to their peers who have considerably more money. I know doctors who are miserable because they can not afford to leave their hospital jobs to work independently but at the same time feel they can not practice medicine the way they want to. I know ivy league graduates in high tech who have found themselves jobless and with zero financial stability, while I have known musicians and teachers who manage to have a solid income and a comfortable lifestyle. Financial stability is not the best metric to use for choosing a career and if it was a metric that made sense than many more people would be going into trades such as plumbing.

I once knew a hairdresser who came from a very accomplished family. All her siblings had advanced degrees. But she told me although her parents were unhappy with her choice of career, they all laugh because of all her siblings she makes the most amount of money.

Also how one manages money also influences how financially stable you are. My oldest is about to enter a career where starting salaries are quite high. But she has a taste for luxury and loves to spend money. I worry that she will struggle financially to make ends meet as she moves into the real world. My middle son is a graduate student earning a very modest stipend. He lives very modestly and as a result has managed to save a small fortune. When he wants something (like a new cooking appliance) he has the money to buy it. My youngest, the musician, loves expensive clothes and nice things. He is still a student but he earns enough doing gigs to cover his living expenses. How will that work once he graduates? I do not know.

You need to think short-term about what will make you happy. Do you want to go to Conservatory and spend your days practicing? Would you miss taking classes in other subjects such as math and science? Do you want to be immersed in a setting where everyone is focused on music or do you want more diversity? Also remember nothing is set in stone. If you decide to go to conservatory and you do not like it you can always transfer and if you go to a liberal arts school and find music consuming you and a feeling as though it is all you want to do you can work hard and go to a conservatory for a master’s degree. Life doesn’t have to be in a straight line and often it is not for those who are the most interesting.