With high school graduations taking place around the country, the latest episode of Music Biz considers whether or not aspiring music professionals need higher education.
People born in the late-1900s and early-2000s grew up believing that college was an essential stepping stone to a good life. If you want a high paying job, then you need a degree. If you want good job security, then you need to specialize. If your career path requires networking, then no place has more people hoping to become someone worth knowing than the campus of any college and university on the planet.
But times have changed. As student loan debt cripples generations of adults, young people today are rethinking the value of a college education. Most will agree that a degree is a must-have item in specific fields, such as engineering and medicine, but what music is another story altogether. For every person who excels through the music industry ranks thanks in part to their degree, someone else gets ahead thanks to hard work and strong digital networking skills.
Nearly every week, we receive questions from readers, listeners, and viewers about the importance of earning a degree in the music business. The answer is not simple, but today, we are going to do our best to put the issue to rest.
On the latest episode of Music Biz, host James Shotwell examines the value of earning a degree in the music business. He looks at how industry programs vary between schools, the challenges presented by skipping college, and one major thing that both paths to success require individuals to do if they want to get ahead.
The short answer is that there are no simple answers. A college graduate and a hardworking person building a name for themselves outside the education system often have an equal shot at landing a career. What separates most future professionals is a combination of talent and determination, not to mention heart, and how motivated a person is to give their all to the industry.
