Considering Careers in Music: Is an Academic Job Right for Me? (The ABCS of Gen X, Y(P), Z: A Column for Young Professionals) (Column‪)‬

During my early studies as an undergraduate, and as a first-generation college student, the thought of eventually entering academia as a professor of music seemed beyond the realm of possibilities. Originally, I intended to finish my bachelor's degree and then to teach as an independent piano teacher. In my junior year, that plan underwent revisions to include the completion of a master's degree, and during my first year of graduate school, I revised that new plan to continue my studies as a doctoral student. In hindsight, my primary motivation to extensively prolong my student life came from an intense love of learning and a love for the culture of academia. My secondary motivation emanated from a strong desire for job security. While the prospect of life as an independent teacher held promise, a university position seemed the ideal way to reliably support my family. Nevertheless, the scarcity of university positions seemed daunting. Bill Deresiewicz, a former Yale English professor, recently related his sobering advice to prospective graduate students, "You're going to be in school for at least seven years, probably more like nine, and there's a very good chance that you won't get a job at the end of it." (1) With these words in mind today, as a hired graduate (albeit a pre-tenured one), I frequently reflect on how thankful I am for my current university position. The saturation of the academic job market should be a major factor when considering the prospect of a life in academia, but this is stating the obvious. A consideration that I had not truly explored as a graduate student was the nature of day-to-day life as a university professor and how I might be completely prepared for it. Most of what I learned about life in academia came from seeing my own professors at work as teachers. That perspective led to a rather narrow view since I did not understand the rest of their duties involving research and service. The following discussion offers my perspective as a junior faculty member in hopes of providing a clearer picture of the academic music profession to anyone considering graduate school and the possibility of a future career in academia.