Posted by Higher, Ed on February 08, 2004 at 19:06:12:
In Reply to: serious career question posted by Tracy Bedgood on February 08, 2004 at 15:58:10:
Did you mean that your main thrust is to make your living performing instead of teaching? Your question implies that you think college teachers are not professional musicians! <<
A DMA is now the minimum entry-level ticket to qualify for just about any college teaching position. This has become true within the last five or so years. If you are a major orchestral musician, who has performed with groups like the Chicago Symphony, you may still not need a doctoral degree to land a tenure-track job at a university. The rest of us need degree credentials. If your biggest job is in a good regional orchestra, you will probably need a doctorate to get your foot in the door during a college search. Administrators who hire us don't understand what we do, but they can see if we have paper credentials. There are so many qualified applicants looking for work that a DMA helps reduce the pool.
One test of your current market value is to see if you can get a free DMA somewhere. If you are a fun person to be around, a solid player, good role model and smart student, somebody at a big state school should be willing to offer you a tuition waiver and assistantship. Even if there is no specific tuba assistantship available, many schools have positions working as orchestral librarian, or band assistant. If they want you bad enough, they will work something out.
When it comes time for a job search, it helps to have one "big name" school on your resume. This will get you past the resume screening stage. A free degree will probably not come from the biggest name school unless you are one of the top players in the nation who is just finishing your masters degree. The monster schools already have enough tuba students to fill every potential job opening in the next ten years. (scary, isn't it?!)
On the plus side, most of the hopefuls will give up the hunt while you are still picking away, building your resume and practicing.
Other random advice: if you only want to be a great player, you might move to where you can study with the best players who are successfully doing what you want to be doing. Take lessons with them and try to break into the playing scene. (Wouldn't it be cool if there were an apprentice system for musicians?) College gives you built in performing opportunities, but after two degrees, you don't need it to be a good player. You have the tools to work on your own playing.
Still more random advice: if you have a DMA and no real-world experience, you are still probably not going to get that college job. Unless you have published some articles, helped with your professional-instrument organization, taught as an adjunct at a community college or small university, or been a finalist in a competition.
In my own case, I chose to study music at the master's and doctoral level only because I love music. I didn't even think about getting a job, I was too busy sucking in the free education. College is great, you get to play your horn five hours a day and have no real responsibilities or worries. I looked forward to returning to my hometown and teaching high school band along with freelancing. Along the way I began to get adjunct work, did well at a few playing competitions, and built a playing resume.
I once read the following on taking a motorcycle journey: "you don't take a trip, the trip takes you." To me that means be prepared to explore the opportunities that arise and enjoy the journey. Make your own luck by being ready and flexible.
My job success rate has been good. Three college job wins in five years, with five interviews out of the eight applications I mailed out. BUT, I may chuck it all tomorrow like my immediate predecessor, as I am finding that younger students work much harder than your average college-age student. Is it worth going through all that training and practice to teach students who see excellence in music as a roadblock to becoming band directors? Is it better to work at Starbucks and enjoy music or to treat college like a day job to support a freelancing habit? If you are a dedicated teacher, it will eat you up.
This is another topic . . . :)
Good luck!