I have doubts...

compmom
Tue, 19 Aug 2014 11:21:17 +0000

hawaiiansinger, this is a frequent topic around here. If you look on the top of the forum, there is even a thread on “Busting the Myth that a Fine Arts Degree Leads to the Poorhouse.” It is wonderful to have 4 years to study what you love.

With high tuition and high debt, many parents and students naturally worry about the practical return on investment for college (or music school). However, it is still true that major does not always correlate with career. It is also true that a bachelor’s in music has the same weight as a bachelor’s in anything else, and gives you access to jobs that require a bachelor’s, and to grad and professional schools (including law, business, medicine, with a few prereq’s done later). So I hope you can relax and enjoy while also knowing you will still have flexible options in the future.

That said, you will also be getting training in one discipline, vocal performance, and the possibililty of working in that field. What could be better?

The saddest thing I can remember is running into a parent of a musician, in the grocery store, and listening to how the parent would not “allow” the son to major in music. While there are naturally some practical worries about how our kids will support themselves, it seems sadly misguided to make these assumptions about music.

Please start your college career happily and hopefully and know that you can indeed live in the present for awhile, with some confidence that things will work out in the future :)