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Career Overview for Individuals with a Music History Degree

Career News May 9, 2016

A Degree in Music History often lead to careers in research, communications or academia where graduates teach about music. Continue reading to learn more about the curricula, skills acquired and the salary details for professionals in music related career paths.

Information for those with a Degree in Music History

Careers related to the music industry are highly competitive and as such, most people look for graduate degrees in order to get better paying jobs. A degree program in music history usually leads to a job as a music historian, music librarian, college professor or music instructor.

Music Librarian Education requirements Master’s degree Master’s degree or PhD A degree in Music History plus a Master’s degree in Library Science Estimated job growth rate (2015) 2% 13% 2% Average salary in 2015 $55,800 $72,470 $56,880

Career Options for those with a Music History Degree

There are several career paths that a graduate of Music history programs may pursue in life. These professions share one thing in common in that they require good analytical skills as well as in depth knowledge of varied music genres and their histories.

Music Historian

Music historians generally research on the history of specific music genres. They also question the music genres as well as write about their findings about the music. For instance, they gather knowledge about the societies that founded a particular kind of music genre, undertake research on the genre’s evolution and present their findings through published articles, conferences, academic journals or through books.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimate that in 2015, employment for all historians is likely to grow at an average rate of 2%. On the other hand, the BLS estimates that historians earned an average salary of $55,800. Established music historians may also decide to pursue careers as college professors.

College professors

Music historians who choose to join the education field acquire jobs as lecturers in undergraduate and graduate institutions of learning. They teach general music topics to students with no background education on music or teach specialized topics to music majoring students. In addition, college professors don’t give up on their work as music historians. They continue studying different music genres, their history and mentor juniors who work in the same profession.

With increased number of music history majoring students in the U.S.; jobs for college professors are estimated to rise at an average rate of 13% in the coming years. The average salary for a college professor was $72,470 in 2015, according to the BLS.

Music librarian

They perform the normal functions of a librarian except for the fact that they are more concerned about music. They select the scores, help library patrons find music references and index music purchases. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a music librarian earned an average salary of $56,880 in 2015 while employment in this profession is expected to grow at an average rate of 2% up to the year 2024.

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