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Hello, one and all!

I have a question I'd like to ask this board about. Right now, I'm a Music Ed. major, and will more than likely continue through and get this degree. However, I don't have a huge desire to follow the standard band teacher route, (something which I knew going in to college...yes, I know, I "shouldn't be in the degree if my heart isn't in it," all that stuff-just hear me out.) What I am slowly becoming interested in is the possibility of somehow combining this background with music and education into working with audiological problems, especially working with those who have a hearing disability of some kind. Growing up as a person with a noticeable hearing disability, (functionally deaf in the left ear due to the bones in there being frozen,) I feel now like I have a unique view into the problems that a person, especially a young person, faces in the classroom and elsewhere. Over the last year and a half, I've especially noticed while in my music ed classes, particularly when this type of problem never seems to be truly discussed within the curriculum. But, I digress...

Now, the question I have is, how would I be able to combine these areas within a full-time job, and how would I go about preparing for this type of job, (particularly when it comes to post-bachelor's schooling?) I've looked into both audiology and music therapy, but neither seem to be what I'm looking for. Music therapy looks too spread out for my purposes, and audiology seems to have the potential to pull away from my music work. The biggest problem is the question of trying to get a job that requires extra schoolwork. At this point in the game, I'm pretty much set on the road towards getting a Bachelor's in Music Ed, so I can't really get some sort of job that requires schooling starting all the way back in the Undergraduate stage. That still leaves the possibility of graduate work open, but I don't want to get a graduate degree in an area I'd never be able to use in the real world.

I'm not entirely concerned with making music my one and only living-I'll always have music, it just might not be what pays the bill. I know this from first-hand experience--my bass trombone teacher in high school was an active hobbyist who had made his living as a neurosurgeon. So, it'll always be there, I don't have to worry about all of that. But, I would still like to integrate my musical side into a career, wherever possible. Maybe I'm just barking up the wrong tree, but I'd really like to hear some opinions on this specific problem, if there are any out there.

Thanks, and as always, any help would be greatly appreciated!
Aaron Hynds

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i went to similar problem in my college days. i did not like to go into music education because i did not like the idea of becoming a band director. i love music and wanted to become a professional musicians. but i knew my odds were agaisnt so i went after a business degree instead. i quit playing for a while because i was so busy with my job but now i am getting back into it again. i should have done a double major.

I think you should develop some fairly specific ideas, and eventually present yourself to audiologists as a species of music educator with related interests. Volunteer to work with charity patients for free, see if you get anywhere. If you can make a difference, they will figure out how to make it work for you professionally. I think there could be a potentially brilliant idea in there somewhere, so I hope you go for it.

Reality Check:

If you have a music ed degree and plan on applying for jobs outside of music or teaching, be prepared to have people laugh literally in your face.
Then, be prepared to exercise personal restraint. Seriously.


If you plan on working in a field outside of teaching music, start gaining knowledge and experience in that field. That way you can prove the above mentioned people wrong months or years later when you are far more successful than they are. Long term, that is much more satisfying than what you were initially planning on doing to the above mentioned people at the time they were laughing in your face.

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

Over the last couple of days, I've really had to do a lot of research and, to use a pretty goofy term, "soul-searching." Since I'm at a pretty crucial point in my undergraduate career, I've had to think a lot about what to do after I get my degree. As some people have suggested, I am thinking about changing from the B.M.E, as I just can't see myself using that degree in any sort of job or other application. I do still want to be a music major, though, as that's what I'm going to my school for, and I don't want to leave and go to another school. I am thinking hard about doing a Bachelor of the Arts music degree, which allows enough room for a full minor degree. If I do that, I'm considering getting a minor in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, which could help in doing any post-graduate work in the Audiological/Speech-Hearing Pathology area. Another reason I'm sticking with the music major is that I am interested in using that background as a musician in working with hearing disabilities and other similar problems.

As I've said before, I'm not all that concerned about making my living as a musician-I'll always have music, and I'll always play the tuba, so I'm not worried. Hey, look at Charles Ives--he wrote great music while still being an insurance agent! Not that I'm as good a musician as Ives...

Again, thanks for the replies!
Aaron Hynds

Something you may want to consider as well is a possibility of working in Music Therapy. It is a bit further from Audiology, but it utilizes music much more directly in a "medicinal" sort of approach. You will also have a chance to work with an even more broad spectrum of people.

I think you're on the right track with your latest thoughts; my advice has to do with what happens when you enter the job market. And that is....don't stay very long in a job that isn't what you want to do; you may have to take a job that isn't quite right, but if you stay in it for more than a year, your chances of getting a job that is not doing exactly what you were doing that wasn't right, diminish considerably. You might need to make "course corrections" a few times along the way, and the longer you've been on a particular course, the harder that is to do. Many of us have worked ourselves into corners career-wise because we stayed with the money instead of going for what we wanted to *really* do. Not that most people get to do what they really want; but some do. Another factor....is if you get yourself in a situation where you have mouths to feed other than your own, that can severely limit your choice of whether to go for something you like better than what you've got.

MA

Edit: I forgot to say....you have what I think is the funniest screen name on Tubenet (and possibly one of the more honest )