Careers in the Music Industry

This lesson will provide you a chance to discover and explore some music career options and the pathways for "Getting There."

Here is what you'll need for this assignment:
  • The Careers in the Music Industry form, OR
  • A team member (or members) in your group that has a phone with the ability to access the internet
Student Objectives
  • Having identified a career in the music industry, create a job posting for one career, including responsibilities, requirements, salary range, and career outlook.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the necessary education and experience required for specific careers in music.
​Procedure
  • Gather in your group (each person will need to contribute something to the conversation/research)
  • In your group, find one person that has a phone - can use multiple phones, but stay focused on the assignment please.
  • One person should access the Careers in the Music Industry google form
  • If you need a jump start, check out this great career list from the Berklee College of Music (you can click on the links on the main page for even more career listings):
  • Once you have a list of at least 4 or 5 careers, your group should choose and explore one career that interests you. You will research more about that career and develop a mock job posting for it. You may want to assign each category below to a different person in your group to expedite the process. Remember, only one person should type the info into the google form though. The posting should include the following information under these headings:
    • Job title: Position and level
    • Job description: Overall duties and daily responsibilities
    • Requirements: Essential skills and experience; including number of years experience
    • Required education: Requisite degrees in specific field
    • Salary range: Typical salary range (from entry level to experienced)
    • Career Outlook: Expected growth in coming years (The projected percent change in employment for the career from 2014 to 2024... this info can be found on the Bureau of Labor Statistics site)
  • Here are some sites to explore to help you create an occupational profile for your group's chosen music industry career. You will find information about skills, tasks, and education related to a career, as well as recent national and state salaries and trends.
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics: Musicians, Singers, and Related Workers
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics: Broadcast and Sound Engineering Technicians
    http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos109.htm
  • Careers in Music (information about salaries, qualification, and education)
    http://www.nafme.org/jobs/
  • Careers in Music
    http://www.berklee.edu/careers/default.html
  • Career Info Net (click "Occupation Information" and create "Occupation Profile," selecting all options)
    http://www.careerinfonet.org/
After you have created your job listing in the google form, discuss the experience and education necessary to prepare for your group's specific career:
  • What high school classes or other training, after-school jobs, volunteer opportunities, or extracurricular activities would be good experience?
  • Is a college degree required or highly recommended? If so, what kinds of degrees?
  • What activities, organizations, or internships help direct someone in a particular career field?
Lastly, you'll enter each person's name in your group, and how they contributed to this group project. This is also how I will take attendance for today.
Assessment Rubric
  • This is the scale that I will use to evaluate your work during this lesson:
    • 20 points:  Students identified many careers in music and dance; thoroughly researched one career and created a clear, comprehensive job posting with all the requested information; demonstrated a strong understanding of the necessary education and experience required for specific careers.
    • 15 points:  Students identified several careers in music and dance; researched one career and created an acceptable job posting with most of the requested information; demonstrated a satisfactory understanding of the necessary education and experience required for specific careers.
    • 10 points:  Students identified very few or no careers in music and dance; conducted little research for one career and created a job posting without much of the requested information; demonstrated a weak understanding of the necessary education and experience required for specific careers.
Lesson Plan adapted from www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/careers-in-song-and-dance.cfm