What Can You do With a Doctor of Musical Arts?

Image of music students for our FAQ on What Can You do With a Doctor of Musical Arts

doctorate in music If your passion for music compels you to  make music your career, you might  think about pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree. Are you wondering what careers would be available to you once you graduate and have your doctoral degree in hand? Read on to discover 6 rewarding, ultra-cool jobs for candidates holding Doctor of Musical Arts degrees.

1. College Music Professor

If you want to inspire and educate the next generation of musicians while earning your living at the same time, you might want to consider becoming a college music professor. A common career path would be to start out as an associate professor or perhaps even an assistant professor. The mean yearly salary for post-secondary music teachers was $81,050 as of 2016.

2. Worship Leader

If you’re a person of faith, a career as worship leader in your local church is worth considering. Worship leaders’ duties vary greatly from church to church, but most positions require a high level of musical expertise. This could prove to be a spiritually rewarding career path, although it is perhaps not as financially rewarding as some of your other possibilities. Payscale.com data reveals that the median pay for worship pastors in the USA is $41,808. The upper end of the pay scale is $66,863.

3. Composer

There’s perpetual demand for new music, and composers are the experts who meet this demand by writing original pieces of music for bands, orchestral groups and musicians to perform. The median annual salary for a composer is $50,110; the median hourly wage is $24.09.

4. Accompanist

If you’re a talented pianist, organist or keyboardist, it’s possible to find highly lucrative paid-by-the-hour jobs as an accompanist. Look for work in:
  • megachurches
  • Christian schools
  • dance schools
You might also want to try talking to vocalists and other musicians. Typical hourly pay for this type of work is in the range of $30-75.

5. Artists and Repertoire Representative or Director

If you have a good eye for recognizing talent in other musicians, perhaps a job as an artists and repertoire representative would appeal to you. In this role, your likeliest employer would be either a talent management company or a record label. The job description would consist of locating musicians who have enough appeal that it would be profitable for a label to sign a recording contract with them. If hired for a related role, that of A&R director or A&R administrator, your likeliest tasks on the job would be to give support and direction to a staff of A&R representatives. According to Glassdoor.com, annual salaries for A&R directors range from $106,000 to $114,000.

6. Music App Developer

If you have both exceptional music and computer coding skills, you’re employable right now in the field of app development. There are numerous dedicated music apps. There are also significant numbers of apps that incorporate music but have other primary purposes. As of 2016, the mean annual wage for app developers was $104,300. We hope this gives you a better idea of what you can do with a Doctor of Music degree. If you hold the terminal degree in music, these are not your only career options. Your opportunities will be virtually unlimited, and these are just a few interesting possibilities. With your Doctor of Musical Arts degree in hand, doors will open to you whether you want to:
  • perform music
  • write music
  • teach music to others.
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