Terminal Degrees

The bulk of the musical talk
UDELBR
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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by UDELBR »

As someone with a DMA and a (IMHO) stellar resume who's been pursuing a 'kolij gig', I've been mightily impressed at how often the "friendly, local candidate" is almost always the winner; usually strongly promoted by the departing faculty member.

Save money on that DMA, don't waste time practicing, just start memorizing 'important peoples'' names. :|
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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by Three Valves »

UncleBeer wrote:I've been mightily impressed at how often the "friendly, local candidate" is almost always the winner...
So long as he isn’t Asian. :tuba:
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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by Ted Cox »

Last week, I created the original post for this thread. The next day or so I removed what I had asked and commented on based on the financial information I included. My two original questions were this: is the cost (money, time, energy, sacrifice, etc.) worth the pay - cost/benefit? The second question was: is the course work perfect for what the job requires, or could there be improvements?

As you can tell from the thread, the original topic got steered off course a bit. Some contacted me personally and were offended by what I originally wrote. One of the many things I do in life is teach others how to teach yoga - we have our own school and we set the curriculum. We ask our students to become very clear as to why they want to teach yoga. I teach yoga to serve. That's it - two words. All I have to do is remember two words when I'm about to teach. Many in life look for outside validation constantly - and when someone feels the outside world isn't validating what they desire, often times people get rather frustrated and offended.

When I was in high school, I was fortunate enough to have a lesson with Ron Barron - the Cleveland Orchestra was in town. He asked me what degree I was going to enroll in and I told him performance. He did his best to point out the advantages of a music ed. degree, but I told him I didn't want to teach. Of course, I find myself in my 37th year of teaching. With a bachelors degree in music education, you can graduate and walk into a good paying job - especially in some states and some school districts. The cost/benefit ratio is very good. Not everyone who earns their DMA degree is guaranteed a job. A friend of mine died of cancer bagging groceries - she had a DMA. If all three degrees end up being performance based and for whatever reason you don't end up scoring a college gig somewhere - are your three degrees worth all you invested? Perhaps a terminal degree in music should qualify someone for a public school music education job so that bagging groceries is never an option.

The supply and demand ratio of those holding DMA degrees doesn't work in the favor of someone holding the degree. Schools want to hire the best person possible, but for the lowest price. People looking for a job don't have a lot of leverage to negotiate higher salaries because of the supply of DMA applicants. My final point is this: what you do is not who you are. If you have trouble understanding those eight words, you may find yourself being frustrated by life and others. The outside world doesn't always validate us. There are many performances I play with the Philharmonic where I'm not complimented for the work I do - I'm fine with that because I don't play the tuba to be complimented. I know whether or not I played well or not. Two questions - discuss.
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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by Monstertuba »

[quote]My final point is this: what you do is not who you are. If you have trouble understanding those eight words, you may find yourself being frustrated by life and others./quote]

"It's not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you." -Rachel Dawes to Bruce Wayne. Batman Begins 2005.

Not everyone views the sole or even secondary purpose of education and learning as job training.

I think the purpose of a terminal degree is to make you an expert in your field; but, there is also a fair amount of leeway to make a terminal degree in performance whatever you'd like it to be. You can treat it like another masters degree, simply delaying the time that you have to go get a real job so you can keep auditioning, or you can prepare yourself to become an expert in the field and make a scholarly contribution to that field of knowledge. Maybe the term 'scholarship' tends to only have one meaning around here, but there is another meaning besides a financial incentive to come and study in a music program.

Insatiably curious types will delve into learning in pursuit of a DMA that furthers the field of study that is the tuba and all things touching it. That kind of thirst for knowledge backed by hard work will inevitably lead to employment, whether in the field of music or elsewhere, but that should not be the primary impetus for the scholarship that is done. The scholarship, how to research, and the thirst for knowledge may begin to be taught and understood while completing a terminal degree in performance, but ideally the real work is done once the university position is obtained.

University faculty must excel in their teaching, scholarship, and university and community service in order to keep their jobs, yes, but many additionally relish the idea of spending their careers in a place that allows their curious minds to seek knowledge, figure out the best ways to disseminate that knowledge to students in a way that inspires subject mastery, and then in the case of performing musicians serve the university and community musically in concerts that are likely to have been enhanced by that knowledge; and also likely to be free to the public.

Looking at a terminal degree in performance only as an investment for your future earning power may indeed be unwise; but with the amount of dedication and hours we put into our instruments many of us could also have become doctors and dentists. It's not all about the money, especially for the truly curious and passionate seeker of knowledge who produces the bricks of scholarship that increase the stature and beauty of the great house of tuba performance. It's safe to say that none of us will have the influence that say a Harvey Phillips has had on that house, but one need not lay the foundations to make his or her mark upon it.

One also need not have a terminal degree to make his or her mark upon it, but as Massimo Pigliucci of the City University of New York says 'Society gets a pretty decent bargain out of allowing bright minds to flourish in a relatively undisturbed environment.'

I guess my contribution to this discussion might be summarized by saying terminal degrees are not the dumbest thing you can do. The work of scholarship to expand knowledge in a given field is very often, but not always, worthwhile; and make sure that if you do undertake a DMA your reasons for doing so are not financial remuneration, or return on investment, but service to the field of tuba, the students you'll inspire, and to the community you bless with music.
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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by Mudman »

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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by anonymous4 »

In the future, I don't think even a music education degree will be able to save anyone. Where I live, fewer and fewer kids sign up to do band every year. The ones that do sign up, it is really hard to get them to stick with it. So many more interesting things to do with their time than play a cruddy old instrument over and over again. My students hate rehearsing and practicing. Sometimes I think they only stay in the program because they like me. Nothing lasts forever I guess.
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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by paulver »

Society, in general, has become a "push-button" society........ meaning that, if you can't make it work by pushing a button, then screw it!!! Find something else to do! There is less and less determination, loyalty, and work ethic...... and personal pride.

Why do actual research when the internet can provide you with all the info you need......whether it's true or untrue.

Practicing an instrument....... why??? If you buy the right instrument, you can make all the music you want just by pushing a few buttons and then touching a few keys. You'll have an entire band and chorus at your fingertips......... and get paid to do it!!! Then, all you need is a PA system.

Heck, nowadays anyone can be a bugler in the military or anywhere else. Just hold the fake bugle to you lips, push a button, and "Taps" will come out of the speaker in the bell!! And, once again....... they'll get paid for it. No musical training needed whatsoever!!! And people will think you actually played the stupid thing!!

On the other side of the coin...... we have been hauling our french horn playing daughter all over the countryside to colleges for campus visits, trial lessons, auditions, etc. We have heard some incredibly talented music students everywhere we went. It's just that the numbers aren't what they used to be. College enrollment across the country, in general, is way down.

I have no idea what the answer is, but one thing is for sure. College is incredibly expensive today!!! We've been saving for our daughter's education since the day she was born, so we're in fairly good shape. And..... she's been offered sizable educational scholarships at various places.... to the extent that at least one college will be offering her a "free ride" by the time she auditions there. Unfortunately, this particular college isn't the one she really wants to attend.

In the end, she wants to get into a major orchestra and play horn for the rest of her life!! Great plan until you realize that for every opening in a major symphony, there will be three to four hundred people fighting tooth and nail to get that chair!!

Fortunately, we've gotten her the right teachers, the right instrument, and enough of the right training to put her in the right music schools to help accomplish this. All of this has been just the first step!! Step two is going to be totally up to her while she's away from us and in college. She will determine how good she gets. Step three..............well...... that's anybody's guess!!!
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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by Mike C855B »

paulver wrote:... Heck, nowadays anyone can be a bugler in the military or anywhere else. Just hold the fake bugle to you lips, push a button, and "Taps" will come out of the speaker in the bell!! And, once again....... they'll get paid for it. No musical training needed whatsoever!!! And people will think you actually played the stupid thing!! ...
Anybody still use that electronic bugle? There was a minor press splash at our local large military cemetery when it came out. However, it was very quickly decommissioned as so obviously fake it was considered contrived and disrespectful. We have pro trumpeters all through the region lining up to volunteer and pay homage to our vets.
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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by Ted Cox »

Paulver,

If your daughter wants to make her living playing in a symphony orchestra, a degree program such as performance may not be your best option. I don't regret at all going to Indiana and studying with Harvey. My fellow students and ensembles were amazing! But school costs a small fortune now. Being burdened with student loan debt when you are trying to get started in the profession is tough. Instead of making a monthly payment, you could be using that money to go take an audition somewhere. Finding a teacher who "cracked the code" and actually won a major job would be where I would look. Ernie Tovar who recently won 4th horn in Philadelphia comes to mind. Find a teacher, find a place to live where you can practice a ton of hours, and in time, good players find work - especially in big metropolitan areas like Philadelphia. Instead of school ensembles, your daughter will find smaller orchestras in the area who will probably pay her to play. Experience! Having taught college for 17 years, I came to the realization that most students shouldn't jump into college until about the age of 25. If your daughter took a year or two and put in the kind of face time required, she may find out a lot about herself - "yes, I want to do this - or no, I don't want to do this." Practicing is lonely work - she'll either enjoy it or not. A book I highly recommend is Steven Pressfield's the War of Art. It's about resistance - the number one obstacle to getting our butts in the chair to work. When I moved to Boston in 1984, I could have gone to BU to finish my master's. Sam Pilafian accepted as his student without enrolling at BU. Perhaps the most profound advice Sam has ever given me in the last 34 years came outside of BU after a lesson. He said, "you will only play as well as you hear." And actually, what else is there? Now if you'll excuse me, my butt needs to go sit in my practice chair.
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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by Monstertuba »

Paulver,

Having your daughter look to study in a music school is a great plan. Here are some of the benefits as I see them:

1. Being a part of a studio of peers pushing each other to be better. Nothing like realizing that if a studio mate is practicing and you're not you might be falling behind where you could be. Depending on the quality of school, your peers may have been recruited on the national and international level for their talent and hunger to be better. That hunger is contagious.

2. Forming close friendships and networking with people in and out of your studio. In some cases those people may be on future audition committee's and be able to speak for you, or they may be able to recommend you for an opportunity.

3. Partaking of the brilliance of other people that teach at the school of music or conservatory you attend. I had many classes and master classes taught by people that were not my tuba instructor. I consider their contribution to my education invaluable.

4. College provides a framework and structure to your education that, depending on your own strengths and weaknesses, may be very important. Not every high school senior has the character strength of being a self starter capable of seeking out players in the community who are in a similar situation, willing to practice and rehearse for free in order to perform a free brass quintet concert at the local library, or retirement home; and if they do, they may not be musicians who are at a level that will help you grow musically. These skills may need developed like many other skills and a school of music has those opportunities built in, while still requiring a modicum of proactivity to, for example, put a chamber ensemble together for a chamber music class.

5. If you attend a University you'll also gain an education in areas outside of music. Broadly educated people will be more successful in life. Period. If you attend a conservatory you'll at least be educated in the arts and humanities, music history and music theory. In your music history and theory courses you'll gain an understanding of musical styles and how they were developed. Composers and how to perform their music. In your music theory core you'll learn to hear intervals, chords, and rhythms that will make you a much stronger player. Studying music theory can give you an understanding of how harmonic progression can enhance performance, and give you tools to understand how you fit in harmonically in an ensemble.

I'll stop there. Maybe college isn't ideal for everyone but I would suggest it is still the best choice for most. The fact that it is not a perfect solution shouldn't detract from the idea that it is probably still the best solution for your daughter.

In my opinion the suggestion to forgo a formal education and seek out a teacher in a big city who's recently won a job would be something to consider after an undergraduate education is complete. Possibly in leu of a masters degree. I would never have given up what my masters degree gave me for that option, but who knows what could've been.
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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by paulver »

Ted.....
Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

Without wanting to sound high and mighty, and definitely not wanting to brag about my daughter's abilities, we've had her to one of the top music schools in the country for a trial lesson, and will be taking her to at least three more of the same "or better" level in the coming months. The horn instructors she's had in the last two years are the ones who are making contact with all of these top schools and recommending her to them. We've also had her to the well known colleges in our area that have outstanding music schools. In addition to wanting her to attend their schools, all of these profs and instructors at the colleges have been honest enough with us to tell us that she will have "the pick or the litter" of music schools after she auditions at any of these schools. That phrase came directly from the horn prof at one of the top music schools in the country.

So...... it's with guarded optimism that we'll take her to the rest of these top schools to see if she really has what it takes to do what she wants to do.

Presently, she has two private horn instructors, and gets two completely different lessons each week..... each concentrating on different facets of playing technique and repertoire. Additionally, she puts in at least 2 to three hours a day on her horn, and depending on which state festivals/concerts are coming up each month, she will put in more than that. She has finished at the top of the horn section repeatedly in the various state band and orchestra festivals since she was in the 9th grade. Last year she was the top horn player in every band and orchestra festival up through, and including, All State Band. the only reason she didn't take first chair first horn in the orchestra festival was because she had to make her choice before the orchestra festival came up!!

At the end of this month we fly to Orlando for the National Honors Ensembles Festival. She's performing in that. She's also waiting to hear on at least three more national type ensembles.

All that being said......... this is ALL her idea. We as parents, provide her with assistance in decision making, guidance, and financing. We haven't forced her to do any of this!!! Her mother and I are both former band directors, so we offer our input as to where to go, what to look for, how best to accomplish this or that, and who or what will help her the most.

We're not the helicopter parent types, nor are we "dreamers". We tell her like it is....... from what we know to be true from our experiences, from those we know who are in the professional orchestras, and those who are the professors and students we know in some of these music schools.

She knows it can be a crap shoot going in, but she truly displays the talents and abilities she's going to need to pull it off. And most importantly............. She wants it BAD!!!!!

Please don't interpret the above as boasting about my daughter. This conversation is merely all up front music talk from musician TO musician. She's a typical kid with a dream. It's just that she's been working very intensely on making that dream come true, and her horn instructors and conductors have been in the "pits" with her every step of the way.
Last edited by paulver on Thu Nov 01, 2018 2:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by paulver »

Monstertuba.......... I agree!!!
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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by roweenie »

djwpe wrote:
Mike C855B wrote:
paulver wrote:... Heck, nowadays anyone can be a bugler in the military or anywhere else. Just hold the fake bugle to you lips, push a button, and "Taps" will come out of the speaker in the bell!! And, once again....... they'll get paid for it. No musical training needed whatsoever!!! And people will think you actually played the stupid thing!! ...
Anybody still use that electronic bugle? There was a minor press splash at our local large military cemetery when it came out. However, it was very quickly decommissioned as so obviously fake it was considered contrived and disrespectful. We have pro trumpeters all through the region lining up to volunteer and pay homage to our vets.
They're still using it. There was a "bugler" provided by the Army at my uncle's funeral this past June.

I told my cousins that if they had asked me I could've gotten them a real bugler.
I attended a funeral for a good friend (Korean War veteran) 2 weeks ago, and this was the case there, too.
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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by paulver »

Regarding the recent posts on the fake bulgers.......

Some years ago, before I retired from public school band directing, I was very fortunate to have a very strong and talented trumpet section in my high school band. With my blessing and the school's permission....... the local VFW actually formed a "bugler squad" out of my trumpet section...... complete with uniforms (of sorts....... military cap, VFW jackets with personal identification for each bugler, and white gloves.... which they got from me!!) They treated those kids like gold!!! They made all the arrangements for parental permission slips for school dismissal, transportation to and from funerals, and food afterward for these kids. They hauled them all over the tri-county area, as they were the absolute best buglers around. The kids loved it and so did the Vets. They also paid these kids $20 every time they played. Sometimes they did two & three funerals in a day. Not bad money for playing less than 30 notes!

Very sad that these groups can't even find a high school kid to do the real thing anymore.
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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by sloan »

By way of introduction - I have a "terminal degree" - but not in Music. I'm now Emeritus, and so by definition and old fuddy-duddy. Nevertheless,
I have an opinion or three. My opinions are all idealized as a result of spending (almost) my entire career in academia.

Consider the undergraduate degree. In my opinion, this should consist of very general and broad EDUCATION with virtually no TRAINING. If
training is a significant part of the undergraduate degree, it is (to me) a sign that you are talking about a very low level institution, or enrolled in one
of many currently popular degree programs that really don't fit well with my model of education.

If you want training, go to a professional school. In music, I suspect this equates to a Conservatory. In other fields, it means a technical institute or simply an old fashioned apprenticeship. Education is not about learning a trade.

Too many "music schools" are just that - technical institutes wrongly placed inside an educational institution. I might
say the same things about "education schools", and even "engineering schools". These are characterized by requiring a huge percentage of classes to be taken in that particular school/major - and involve significant job-training activities (performances, practice teaching, unpaid internships, work-study, etc.) Now - for some 18yos who are perfectly clear about their life goals, trade schools are appropriate. But, they should not be confused with "college". The certifications they provide should not be confused with Bachelor's degrees.

I am suspicious of "Music Performance" degrees. I'm also a bit suspicious of "Music Education" degrees. To my way of thinking these are
far too specific about future job goals. As you might guess, I'm also suspicious of most "Education" degrees - at least the ones that concentrate on "how to do it" rather than "what it is". For both, if you spend lots of time working on practical assignments (say, interning at the local middle or high school), then you are in training, and NOT getting and education. Not that there's anything wrong with that - just be honest about what's going on.

Moving up to Master's programs. These often (and properly) look like "professional" degrees. Terminal Master's degrees generally involve intense training (and a bit more education) with the intent of preparing the "students" for employment. In some universities, these are the real "cash cows". But, the situation is muddied when the Master's program is part of a general graduate program where the crown jewel is a doctoral degree. In that case, Master's students are viewed as low-level Doctoral students, and receive more education than training - and the training they receive is also training as an academic. That is, learning to work in the field, publish, and teach. In bad universities, these Master's "students" put in a lot of hours meeting classes and instructing the undergraduates. This is good training for the Master's students, but perhaps not the best educational system for the undergraduates.

If you are PAYING for your Master's degree, you are probably in training, and a low-paid intern as much as a student. If you are on scholarship, you are probably getting an education. Most Master's students are somewhere in between - perhaps becoming education while working as Instructors. Pay attention to whether the instruction is viewed as a "job", or whether it is viewed as training in how to be a teacher.

Some very successful Master's degree programs provide education (part time) for people who are already working at their day jobs. They don't need
to stress practical training, because their students are already working professionals.

In Music, my opinion is that a Master's of Performance is perfectly reasonable degee. So is Music Education (which might be aimed at students with Bachelor's degrees in EITHER Music OR Education. I'm guessing I would prefer a Music student who now wants training in how to be an educator, but it
might go the other way. Music Performance is another kettle of fish. I wonder why this kind of experience/training is best done at a University.

Finally, moving up to "terminal degrees". A PhD is a union card for University tenure-track jobs. It generally involves the creation and dissemination of new knowledge (which is what occupies 50% of most professors' time) - and often offers some rudimentary training/experience in instruction.
Personally, I don't really understand the rationale behind the "DMA" degree - and assume that it's just an idiosyncratic naming of something similar to a PhD. To the extent that DMA accurately describes the degree, it's not clear to me how this qualifies one to be a professor.

A word on university professors. In my parlance, these folk produce new knowledge (which might involve creative activities in the arts - but not purely "performance"). They also participate in the governance of the field, the department, and the university.

"Adjunct professor" is a particularly tricky title. Back in the day, an "adjunct professor" was someone who had a day job and was given status
roughly equivalent to "professor" (at various levels) so that they could participate in training and production of new knowledge based on the experience demonstrated in their "real" job.

Nowadays, it seems to mean "Part time Instructor". I object to that usage. We already have a term for "part time Instructor". Calling them "Adjunct Professors" seems like offering a meaningless title, and leads to fruitless discussions about why they are not treated the same as other "professors".

Note that many fields have qualified titles such as "Teaching Professor" or "Research Professor". The first is somewhat redundant, and the second is a bit contradictory. Both are an effort to offer "professor" status to someone who only wants to do half the job.

Back to degrees: why do you want to do a "terminal degree". In my world, you do it because you can't imaging NOT doing it. It's a bit like "why become a performing musician?" Everyone tells you that it's too difficult, not well rewarded, etc. - but you HAVE to do it, anyway.

Anyone who enrolls in a "DMA" or "PhD" program *only* because they think its a ticket to a job they will like is in for a shock. I told all my PhD students: "if you don't like being a grad student, you will HATE being a professor". You do it because you like that life and that's the entry level position.
Note that many people do these terminal degrees and then go on to careers outside academia. Nothing wrong with that.

Why do universities want (insist on) "terminal" degress for their tenured faculty? Because those terminal degrees are really the entry level positions in academia. They also generally want you to be a successful Assistant Professor before offering you a job as Associate Professor, and so on.

Why do I specify "tenured faculty"? Because tenure (in higher education) primarily protects people whose job it is to express opinions and create new knowledge from being dismissed because someone doesn't like those opinions. There is a "get-to-know-you" period (pre-tenure) where the university gets to observe and decide if you are worthy of that protection.

In my opinion, "Research Professors", "Teaching Professors", "Adjunct Professors", "Instructors", "Research Staff" and so on do not require (or merit) this protection. Neither, for that matter, do ElHi teachers - but that's another discussion.

Back to terminal degrees - if you are PAYING to be a PhD or DMA student - beware! Recall that, in my definitions, these are entry level academic positions. If you are not good enough to be paid, then you may be chasing something that other people don't think you are qualified for (but, they are willing to accept your money). I say that even though my history is that I worked in industry after my Bachelor's, got a Master's at night (paid for by the company), and when the time came to do a PhD, I chose to pay for my first year at a University that did not offer me a stipend (rejecting offers from other places, that did). I was lucky - after 1 year I obtained a research fellowship that paid for the rest of my PhD.

Do a classic Bachelor's degree because you want to be an educated member of society. Study what INTERESTS you. Don't let Daddy (or anyone else) tell you to study something that will "lead to a good job".

Do a professional Master's if you identified a future field to work in, and need more than you were able to fit into a wide-ranging traditional Bachelor's.

Do a PhD (or a DMA) if you can't live without it, and want to live a life of creating new knowledge and disseminating it (including education, up to and including the eventual advising of other, younger PhD/DMA students).

If you just want to play your horn - find a Conservatory, or form a band, and Just Do it. - this applies before, or after, college.

If you want to teach ElHi (including "band director"), study Music *and then* Education. Although, I must admit that I personally think of "Band Director" they way I do about "Football Coach". It's an honorable profession, but it's not something with which I am familiar, and I don't think it's particularly
closely related to being a "History Teacher". Question: do college History departments have a "History Education" program?

That's (more than) enough for now. Crawling back into my hole and donning my fireproof suit.
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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by Ted Cox »

Dr. Sloan,

Let me personally thank you for your viewpoints - with name attached. Although I'm reading your thoughts early in the morning on a time-change, I couldn't find a thing to disagree with. When I started this thread days ago, I had no idea so many would weigh in. It's valuable to get a different perspective from a non music professor. Perhaps the DMA degree should be restructured involving people outside of the music profession - giving it a broader understanding and meaning.

My freshman year in college, I walked into the band directors office and handed my scholarship back. I was told I would never make it in music if I didn't play in his band. My first lesson of my second semester I was told I had no talent by my applied instructor. I transferred to Indiana University and thrived under Harvey Phillips. I was told by many I would never teach at the university level without a terminal degree. I taught 15 years with only a Bachelor's degree. I was told by someone everyone on tubenet knows that if I didn't have a job by 30, find something else to do. My point: listen to those who believe in you. Anyone else, drop them and leave them next to your path to rot, no matter who they are. We only have this life now and it goes by so fast. We are capable of so much more than we can ever imagine for ourselves. Cultivate and explore new passions without fear. Break down the walls!
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Re: Terminal Degrees

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Re: Terminal Degrees

Post by sloan »

The apple.news article begins with the flawed assumption that doing a PhD is about increasing your employment options.

Eventually, it points out that many people do PhDs and then do NOT go into academia. Well, duh!

Fact : most people *capable* of doing a PhD can make more money and find more job opportunities by pursuing some other
career.

Fact: if you "fail" as an academic, there are plenty of career options.

The major trap is to fail to progress beyond the entry level and continue to accept BAD jobs (e.g., 4 "adjunct positions at 4 different institutions) instead of moving on. In my opinion, this is acting as an enabler for the evil university administrators who are happy to deal with a population of "Instructors" rather than building a solid community of "professors". In my view, this is a mutual-exploitation system - with a very unbalanced power relationship.

In my experience, 0% of those grad students who do a PhD to "get a job" end up with a decent job in academia. The successful ones find good jobs outside academia - not necessarily in their field of study. The sad stories are the "perpetual grad students" who have unrealistic views about how the system works.

Please - if you want a career as a respected faculty member, DO NOT settle for a life of multiple "adjunct" positions. Part of the reason there are so few "real" Assistant Professor positions is that there are so many people willing to settle for less. Academia is a really bad place to try to live in the "gigging economy". Just Say No. There are better opportunities elsewhere.

None of which is to NOT say "don't do a PhD because it won't guarantee a good job". Instead, my point of view is: "don't do a PhD specifically because you THINK it will guarantee a good job". That's a bad reason to to *any* degree. Mom and Dad are wrong - you don't go to college, or grad school, to prepare
yourself for a career. You do it to prepare yourself for a more enlightened life. The resulting job should be the icing - not the cake.
Kenneth Sloan
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