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I'm trying to decide how much grad school is worth... I was accepted at a private university for graduate school and given a half tuition scholarship and all the loans I want. The issue at hand is including living expenses I will end up amassing $36,000 in debt. The school's a pretty good school... but I wouldn't necessairly put it on the same level as a Northwestern. I'm tryin to decide if I should just audition at more schools and try my luck for next term or if this is a decent offer and that the loans will be worth it. I'm just looking for some prespective and advice. For those of you who are college professors, what would my chances be for calling around to school in... say... late june to find any openings... would this be reasonable at all?

Thanks in advance

Jim
rascaljim@yahoo.com

What do you want to do when you grow up? I'm from the school that your undergrad can be done many places, but if you really want to make noise in the field, your choice for the MM and DMA are important for many reasons. Not only the quality of the teacher, but does this teacher tend to place kids in jobs, what playing is there near the school, etc....

Of course, the real determination in the long run is 'can you play the beast' or not....

grad school is a waste of time and money.

Now that sounds like a really profound, well-conceived statement with a solid explanation of one's viewpoint. As I ponder that statement, I realize that it was most likely true for the author of that post. That is to assume that he has ever been to grad school.

Speaking for myself, I believe it was money which was well-spent.

I'll certainly concede the concise point you make, Joe. Certainly, grad school is not for everyone. It is, however, worthwhile to a lot of people(at least it is in my opinion). To totally dismiss it as a waste of time may indicate that someone knows his own mind, but fails to account for any variations in situation, etc. To me, it also smacks of a certain arrogance that one knows infinitely more than anyone else does. Thus they are an expert concerning the validity of graduate for any and everyone in the entire world. Perhaps it might be accurate to state, "For me, graduate is a waste of time." Or maybe, "I believe graduate school to be a waste of time for most people." This makes the statement not nearly so sweeping or condescending.

At least that's how I see it. I will fully concede that I am NOT the expert in the field. There are times that I am outstanding in THE field, however.

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bbtubaman wrote:
To me, what do you need the degree for and is it really important that you have it.

Its only a piece of paper and alot of money unless you need it for a specific purpose and it will help you get the job you want or a job in the future you are after. ...

This is the most sensible post I have seen on this topic. When I got my MS in engineering, I did so on a fellowship, so I didn't have to pay for tuition or room and board. The only cost was the opportunity cost of lost wages from not working. There have been a number of times in the intervening 25 years when I was told that I got a job over other candidates because I had the degree. To me that was easily worth the loss of a years potential pay.

OTOH, my sister has a Masters in French Horn performance from a top notch conservatory. She has worked steadily, but has not won a major orchestral audition, and just barely gets by financially. The Masters has been worth nothing to her in terms of getting a job or increased earnings, but perhaps provided additional skill acquired from practice or instruction during the time it took to earn it and the life experience that she got to experience in the process.

If you have the time and money, you should never regret any time spent increasing your education, but it's not worth putting yourself in debt unless there is a clear benefit to doing so.

I chose the state university route where they gave me an assistantship that paid for school and most of my living expenses (not all). For me it worked well. It is possible that I was in a less intellectually or musically stimulating environment than a more prestigious grad school. I did, however, get the same graduate degrees and was given more opportunities to lead bands and get local gigs than I would have at a "better" school. In lieu of a fancy name on my diplomas, I walked out with a lot of quality experience

As was mentioned earlier, grad school is what you make of it. Like it or not, the piece of paper does mean something if you plan to teach in the public schools or at a college or university. But bear in mind, quality experience almost always trumps the name on your degree. I will acknowledge that given equal credentials and talent, the person with a more prestigious the degree may have an edge in the academic job market.

Lastly, if your educational goals include an eventual doctoral degree you should know that search committees judge your education by the last degree you completed. You could do both your masters and bachelors at Lower Slobovia State A&M if you finish with a decent doctoral degree. Actually, there are very few weak misic doctoral degrees out there.

By the way... I still need another Grad Assistant for next year.

Grad school is worth $3.17.

I , too, am in grad school. I will incur a good bit of debt. However, I will pay that off far before the terms are due. My debts will be in the $24K range. However, I am getting an MBA. An MBA usually guarantees a better salary and better working conditions and terms. That is because it is a technical degree (Kinda). Just like a master's in math or engineering it usually dictates a certain skill set and mastery of that skill set.

A master's in music is less quantifiable than other degrees. That does not mean it is irrelevant. I have many friends with MM degrees. They have been better considered for many jobs. Unfortunately, the premium attached to that degree is nothing like what comes with an MBA or a maste's in math or engineering.

When I was in college in florida we could look up the professor's salaries. These professors all had master's degrees. The assistant professors made $22k a year. Associates made around $38. Full professor's made $55. This was in 1997. IF you adjust for inflation, the bottom end still made less than a public school teacher. THe associates made far under par for the average business person with like experience. Full professors were still far below par for experience and education when compared with other careers.

Now, they do work a little less than a 40 hour work week for the most part. They also have the summers off and all that good stuff. But the ROI (return on investment) for most of those sporting master's degrees in music is not in line with most other fields of study.