You’ve just made one of the toughest decision of your life: choosing your college major. You’ve poured over endless lists of departments, programs, and field-specific offerings, rebuffing unwanted advice from pestering family members and teachers. Finally you’ve come to the conclusion that you want to major in music. Sure it’s not a typical major— most of your friends have gone with business or biology— but it’s something that you love. Unlike other fields of academic study that bore you to tears, music is something you are passionate about. When you close your eyes and try to picture your life ten years from now, you envision yourself happy, driven, and fulfilled in your music career.
But then the reality of the situation hits. Your parents are displeased with your decision, asking you to at least, for the love of god, be sensible and tack on a business minor. Your friends are supportive but question whether or not you’ll actually get a job upon graduation. And when you do some online research regarding music co-op placements, you soon learn that very few of the available co-ops are paid. With all of this negativity swirling around, you wonder if you made the right decision after all.
Before you embark on your college journey, you must be aware of a few things. Jobs in the field of music— which is essential to society because it’s contributions to quality of life and happiness— is considered a pathetic, second-rate field. Those who major in music and chose to dedicate their lives to this pursuit are often met with ridicule and disdain from family, friends, and society due to the industry’s reputation of being purely for “entertainment.”
So, to summarize: you’ll have to put up with some shit if you really want this. First, you won’t be taken seriously. “Music isn’t a real job,” you might be told, “When you grow up you’ll change your mind.” Parents are under the false illusion that your interest in music is merely a phase and suggest you major in something productive and reliable. Though no one denies the importance of music and musicians, they believe that these jobs can be filled by other music lovers— those without college degrees.
In addition to family and friends not taking your career choice seriously, you will also be shit on by fellow Northeastern students. They believe that their majors are more important and credible than yours, and won’t be afraid to let you know. This will be supported by the fact that they will probably spend considerably more time in the library pouring over scientific or economic literature, constructing business plans, or doing whatever it is that engineers do. But that’s not to say that music majors don’t have any work— we’ll get to that later. They will also expect you to be weird. It’s a typical artist stereotype that unfortunately you won’t be able to avoid. They will expect tattoos, piercings, and weird colored hair. (Whether or not you actually have any of these things is not the issue; they will presume you do regardless.)
Your co-ops will be unpaid. Yes, this sucks. You will work just as hard, if not harder, than your fellow business and science major students, but will receive no compensation other than a pat on the back and another job to list on your resume. You will learn plenty of industry-specific skills that will greatly contribute to your future success— that is, if you pick your co-op carefully. Working for a major record label or booking agency will only leave you fetching coffee and making copies for your superiors. If music is really what you want to do, you will have to pay your dues as a lowly unpaid intern. You’ll have to deal.
Another thing you should be warned about: you will actually enjoy your classes. Your homework assignments will consist of writing songs, researching your favorite artists, and reading books about the history of music. Hopefully you won’t mind listening to music for hours on end in preparation for the listening portion of your exam. There won’t be many boring numbers or dates to memorize either; surely you will miss that. Your fellow classmates will be an eclectic bunch, but they’ll be friendly and eager to help you succeed. Unlike other majors where competition is fierce and stakes are high, music emits a mellower vibe and cultivates a student population who are motivated yet relaxed. You must be willing to put aside your competitive juices for friendship and cooperation.
Because of the wide variety of subdivisions within the music industry, you will be posed with the challenge of finding your niche. Northeastern makes this process especially difficult by providing you with a plethora of classes that may or may not interest you:artist management, venue management, copyright law, music supervision, music history and analysis, etc. These are, of course, in addition to standard performance, composition, and theory classes. Good luck choosing one subject to focus on, because you’ll probably love them all.
In the end, regardless of the stereotypes, misconceptions, and disrespect that you will be subjected to, you know that you still want to do this. Why? Because you love music. And that is not a bad thing. You will make a difference in the world. You will contribute to society through a different form than most, but one that is important to human existence nonetheless. You will succeed in what you do because you are passionate about it.
…So do you still want to be a music major?
