I'm still choc-a-bloc so here's another one from HBB:
Originally posted on 29.06.2010 - LINK
Is Going to University a Smart Decision for Musicians?
When I was at secondary (high) school, we were told that university was the only option. I find this message quite bizarre and have certainly seen its effects on students that I meet.
When I started teaching in a secondary school, I got chatting to the careers adviser who made it clear that university was not the only option to recommend. I don't know whether this was because a difference in schools or a difference in time.
With top up fees, a UK degree is probably going to set you back £30-40k. I know that this debt doesn't have to be paid back until you can afford to do so but that's not the kind of cloud I'd put over my own head lightly. Despite this, I meet a lot of students that hate their course, don't go to their lectures and, when I ask why they chose that subject in the first place, they say: 'Because I got offered a place' or 'I went to an open day and ended up doing that' or 'I don't know; I just did' or even 'I didn't know what else to do' i.e. avoiding the real world.
Personally, I would love to study music at degree level. I'd just need a way to freeze time and for somebody to pick up the bill. I'm really interested in the subject. I know that I would work hard and do well but there's no way that I would trade a full time job in music with all the experience and experiences that I'm getting for a ridiculous amount of debt and a load of twats getting pissed for the first time. After that I'd just be going back to doing what I already am, though I'd love to see what it would do to my music.
I've done quite a few student gigs, festivals and 'alternative-proms' (a really nice circuit to get on). I also have lots of student chums and have been to parties in halls. From a mixture of this and talking to people when weighing up doing a degree, I have come to these conclusions:
On a train on the way to a gig, I decided to compare what £20k (the cost of a degree not including living costs) could buy me. In terms of education, I figured out that I could get around 1,000 hours of private tuition for that price.
That works out at five two-hour lessons per-week for 100 weeks (about three years if you take time off for Christmas and the festival season).
To reiterate, you could study five different kinds of music for three years for the same price as a degree. That means that you could do: Beatboxing, Singing, Piano, Music Theory and Music Production. You could choose your tutors too. The only downside is that you'd have to find the money upfront.
My point of view is fairly biased against going to university. There are plenty of situations where it is the best choice. The point of this thread is not to provide an argument against university; it is to state that, from a business point of view, it is a decision that you need to make. Don't let parents and teachers tell you what to do. It might not be the best option, especially if you want to go freelance.
When I started teaching in a secondary school, I got chatting to the careers adviser who made it clear that university was not the only option to recommend. I don't know whether this was because a difference in schools or a difference in time.
With top up fees, a UK degree is probably going to set you back £30-40k. I know that this debt doesn't have to be paid back until you can afford to do so but that's not the kind of cloud I'd put over my own head lightly. Despite this, I meet a lot of students that hate their course, don't go to their lectures and, when I ask why they chose that subject in the first place, they say: 'Because I got offered a place' or 'I went to an open day and ended up doing that' or 'I don't know; I just did' or even 'I didn't know what else to do' i.e. avoiding the real world.
Personally, I would love to study music at degree level. I'd just need a way to freeze time and for somebody to pick up the bill. I'm really interested in the subject. I know that I would work hard and do well but there's no way that I would trade a full time job in music with all the experience and experiences that I'm getting for a ridiculous amount of debt and a load of twats getting pissed for the first time. After that I'd just be going back to doing what I already am, though I'd love to see what it would do to my music.
I've done quite a few student gigs, festivals and 'alternative-proms' (a really nice circuit to get on). I also have lots of student chums and have been to parties in halls. From a mixture of this and talking to people when weighing up doing a degree, I have come to these conclusions:
- University used to be for around the top one percent but now everybody has a way in and is going for it. This means that going to university would probably feel like going to school.
- Most pissed students are like fourteen year-olds.
- The first year of a degree is just about getting everybody up to the level of the smartest people in the class. This means that the whole first year benefits the smartest people the least.
- University is a good, essential option for anybody that wants to become a successful doctor, lawyer, headmaster, lecturerer etc. because of the piece of paper it gives you. If you're not in it for the piece of paper, there are cheaper ways of gaining the knowledge, though they will probably take more self-discipline.
- Most people that finish a degree, successfully or otherwise, go straight into working in bars, cafés and other jobs that have nothing to do with their subject.
- Eighteen is not an 'adult age' for the vast majority. Even physically most eighteen year olds still have some growing to do. In terms of maturity, it's probably wise to wait until you're ready.
- Debt is slavery. Although it's probably the best kind of debt you can have, a degree is not as valuable as it used to be. It's not like you'll have a house at the end of it.
- Many level three courses (E.g. A-levels) have scope to teach at degree level.
- Most jobs in teaching require a degree. Plenty don't.
On a train on the way to a gig, I decided to compare what £20k (the cost of a degree not including living costs) could buy me. In terms of education, I figured out that I could get around 1,000 hours of private tuition for that price.
That works out at five two-hour lessons per-week for 100 weeks (about three years if you take time off for Christmas and the festival season).
To reiterate, you could study five different kinds of music for three years for the same price as a degree. That means that you could do: Beatboxing, Singing, Piano, Music Theory and Music Production. You could choose your tutors too. The only downside is that you'd have to find the money upfront.
My point of view is fairly biased against going to university. There are plenty of situations where it is the best choice. The point of this thread is not to provide an argument against university; it is to state that, from a business point of view, it is a decision that you need to make. Don't let parents and teachers tell you what to do. It might not be the best option, especially if you want to go freelance.
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