This is related to the other thread currently going. My girlfriend is just starting on a Master’s program for Music Systems/Theory and I’m wondering what kind of benefits it will provide. I’m from a Comp Sci./Comp Engr. background, so the application of my degrees was immediately obvious, but I don’t really know much about the liberal arts end of education, so I’m kind of out of my depth here.
What kind of careers become available when you do graduate work in fields like music? Do they provide some sort of leverage over just having an undergrad degree in a similar subject?
If they don’t provide any obvious career paths, how can you avoid stalling out career-wise while working on the degree?
My stepbrother recently got a Masters in education. He did it because he loves music but, more importantly, he wanted to teach high school music. A Masters degree is often a requirement for teaching in public schools.
Same here. Both of my nephews have Masters in music, and both teach high school music (band, choir, etc.). One of them is also a serious jazz musician and just loves music.
I appreciate that “often” <> “always,” but FWIW, I’ve never heard of a school system that required a master’s degree for teachers.
Glances down the road.
Massachusetts does for the most part. You can get hired with a bachelors degree but they give you a set time of about 5 years I think to complete the masters degree or you are out of that job.
Even in my poor, rural hometown in Louisiana, many teachers got masters degrees because the pay scale was based on it. I don’t remember that being an actual requirement but the push was firmly in place institutionally. This was one of the systems in 49th place nationally and in one one of the lesser systems under that. They wanted masters degrees. Teachers got raises even before they completed the masters program as well.
New York does, for permanent certification.
I have a Masters in English (with a concentration on writing).
It got me my job in I&TS.
Really. They needed someone to teach computer science labs and work at I&TS. In order to teach at the college, you needed to have a Master’s Degree. It didn’t matter what subject.
The Master’s also got me some part time teaching assignments – one with software training, and an actual English writing course – which were a requirement for my current job.
So the answer is, with a Master’s Degree in Music, you can use it to get any job where a Master’s Degree is required (usually academic), even if the job has nothing to do with music.
Thanks for the ignorance-fighting, y’all! That’s cool to know.
Knead
Whose profession’s entry-level requirement and terminal degree are the same