While some performing musicians (and pop stars, who you may or may not regard as musicians) earn a great deal of money, it is very difficult to find a steady, well-paid job in this role. Most musicians who choose this route have to supplement their income in some way, often by teaching. Music graduates, including those employed full-time, earn an average of about $50,000 per year.
People who end up studying music generally have their hearts set on doing so, already have several years of training in one or more instruments under their belt, and can't really see themselves doing anything else. The sad truth, unfortunately, is that there are only so many available positions in orchestras, ensembles, and for session musicians. The best bachelor's degrees in music, therefore, are those that prepare you for a career in that field without necessarily trying to turn you into the next Yo-Yo Ma.
This means that you should consider a music program that focuses on, or at least includes, some commercially valuable skills. This may well be in addition to cultivating your performing talents using your voice or a particular instrument.
Some career-building music subjects are:
These and related courses can usually be incorporated into a bachelor's degree in music or a more general bachelor's of arts. Learning about them is entirely compatible with honing your technical and interpretative skills regarding music itself, including in culturally significant cities like Vienna, Prague, and Paris.
The college admissions process in the US has become a race to the bottom as students compete with their peers for a single spot in a liberal arts college, convinced by parents and guidance counselors that their survival rests on playing a musical instrument or varsity sport. Many smart kids don’t do well on standardized tests. This doesn’t limit them as much when looking outside of the US, as many colleges in Europe do not require standardized tests. Many countries see entry into universities as a right, rather than a privilege, so admission standards are not as stringent.
When you also factor in the many problems with US higher education, it is imprudent not to consider other possibilities. It is true there are many excellent schools in the United States—I don’t think anyone would argue that. There are some that have managed to look at applicants as people, and not just a checklist of achievements. Some even have reasonable tuition rates, and/or professors that actively teach and have highly engaged students. Despite this, I have yet to find a school in the United States that addresses all of these issues: allows students to opt out of the rat race the admissions process has become, have reasonable tuition, AND have positive results around the educational experience and post-graduation outcomes. Not every school in Europe provides all this either, but the schools listed in our database do.
Finding these programs is burdensome, difficult, and confusing, especially with institutional websites in foreign languages... We know that making the decision to study abroad can be difficult, so we want to make it easy for you. We scoured the continent for vetted programs and made them available to thousands of families looking to leave the US and find a better life in Europe. We found over 11,200 degrees, 870 universities, 550 cities, and 32 European countries to choose from. Europe offers an impressive range of educational opportunities!
We have gathered all of the information you need to know about studying in Europe – from the different types of schools available to how to get housing and everything in between. Our database helps you find these programs quickly and easily, helping you contextualize the many benefits and options around higher education in Europe.
You will be able to find programs and courses that suit your interests and needs, taught in English by experienced professors in state-of-the-art facilities. Search our database of English-taught European bachelor's and master's programs and get started on your journey to Europe today.
Travel opportunities abound when attending college in Europe. For example, Lille, a city in northern France with multiple universities, is close to major cities such as Brussels, London, and Paris via high-speed rail. Air travel, especially with the rise of affordable airlines like Ryanair, EasyJet, and Transavia, can be comparable in price to rail travel, so many more destinations open up for short-term travel.
