BU’s Online Music Education Graduate Programs Open Doors to More Career Options. What’s Your Dream Job?
CAREER INFORMATION
You have decided to share your passion for music with others by becoming a music educator. Your talent and desire has led you to Boston University to find out more about the excellent offerings in BU's online graduate music programs. The completion of either the master's or doctorate program will surely open doors, but what opportunities are available for students after attaining their degree.
As the educational landscape has grown so has the market for music educators. We have provided a sample list of some occupations that are currently available. However this is only a partial list of opportunities.
TEACHER, COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY MUSIC
The role of a music teacher in the college or university is highly diversified. Within a department or a school of music there are teachers of performance, theory, composition, history, and education. In some institutions you will find further specialization in areas of church music, music therapy, commercial music, and other allied fields.
Postsecondary teachers held nearly 1.6 million jobs in 2004. Most were employed in public and private 4-year colleges and universities and in 2-year community colleges. Other postsecondary teachers are employed by schools and institutes that specialize in training people in a specific field, such as technology centers or culinary schools, or work for businesses that provide professional development courses to employees of companies. Some career and technical education teachers work for state and local governments and job training facilities. The following tabulation shows postsecondary teaching jobs in various specialties:
| Health specialties teachers | 150,000 |
| Graduate teaching assistants | 143,000 |
| Vocational education teachers | 127,000 |
| Business teachers | 85,000 |
| Art, drama, and music teachers | 78,000 |
Educational Composer
The term "educational composer" is commonly used to describe one who composes performance music and instructional materials for beginning, intermediate, and advanced students. Performance music includes works for all media, including concert bands, orchestras, choirs, jazz bands, marching bands, and various smaller ensembles. Instructional material includes method books that teach instrumental and vocal techniques, sight-reading, solo interpretation, theory, and all other areas of musical learning. Both areas include works for beginning, intermediate, and advanced students.
ETHNOMUSICOLOGIST
Ethnomusicologists, simply stated, are translators between an audience or population (e.g., mainstream Americans) and foreign music or musics. They provide insights, understandings, and bases for appreciation of this foreign expression. Their translation may take many forms(research, teaching, recordings with informative notes, films about an ethnic tradition, or even arts administration.
SUPERVISOR/ADMINISTRATOR, MUSIC
The job of music supervisor/administrator encompasses a vast number of tasks that will vary daily and that usually are unpredictable. There are as many descriptions of this job as there are people trying to fill the position. For example, in a district of twelve elementary schools, the tasks of the music administrator would be quite different from those in a district of 60 or more schools that have grades K-12. Another variable is the title used to describe the music administrator´s position. Some of the most common are director of music education, supervisor, coordinator, curriculum specialist, and music consultant.
Sources:
U.S. Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Outlook Handbook
National Association of Music Educators (MENC), "Dictionary of Music Careers"