Careers Advice, Music or Medicine.

November 6, 2006 2:20 PM

CareerFilter: Music or Medicine? Please help me give some good advice.

My nephew is 15, mature, intelligent and is being badgered to make career choices. He has good all-round grades but is a talented musician, recognised as such by his school who are gently encouraging him to take some kind of Music degree at University. He plays in a band and may yet make something of that.

Until recently he had not expressed much passion in any direction for careers or further education and seems rather ambivalent about music at University, which I can understand. I'm no great fan of the idea that everyone should be absolutely driven at 15 and advised him that he could be fairly relaxed about career choices for a few more years. The exception, I felt, was medicine, where the demands were much greater and serious career thinking really needed to start earlier than with other fields. He's now called me on that, and asked what committing himself to Medicine might involve.

I know that it's very tough and very expensive. I know that it can be very rewarding. What I'm looking for are the internal drivers, the sense of mission, of calling, that makes a medical career the right choice. The mechanics of University and Medical School we can possibly work out for ourselves (in England) anyway, although advice on timing would be appreciated.

What makes a good medical professional? What questions should my nephew ask himself to find out if this is the right career choice for him?

posted by grahamwell to education (14 comments total)

For more info on doing Medicine at University in the UK you want to check out the UCAS website.

They're the body that do all the applications for Universities, including medical courses, which I know you have to apply earlier for.

Theres a course search on their, and each will state its entry requirements, therefore which A-levels to do.

They're going to want pretty heavy A-levels, which means good GCSE results to get onto the right A-levels, (at my college you needed Bs to get onto Science or English courses).

As far as music, what sort of band is he in? I'm currently in my second year of a Physics degree, and last summer my death-metal band were offered a record deal, a decent one. The band ended up fallng apart because of personal differences, but I since realise that I'm kinda glad, because touring is immensly hard work, and not very rewarding, at least at the start, you'll be playing empty venues, for no money, living off the profit from selling a single t-shirt to a crazed fan, if you're lucky.

Only those at the very top make good money playing music, whereas medicine is as good as guarenteed decent wage you'll get in this country.

If he wants to do music technology, then its a bit more likely, but still a tough path. Someone I know has finished a year in one of the worlds most prestigous music tech. schools, he finished top in his class, and this enabled him to be a night receptionist at a london recording studio, where a year later, he might move onto being an assisant, but maybe not. He's decided to do it alone, but he's in a fairly niche field (metal) where if you can make a name, you'll do well. (Most big metal albums are produced by a handful of people)

Good luck either way, at the end of the day, theres got to be more motivation behind this decision than future income, but it does come into it.
posted by chrispy108 at 2:32 PM on November 6, 2006

Absolutely, thanks chrispy. His influences are Radiohead, Radiohead and Muse. The school is pushing him to Music Technology at Surrey - it was pretty unclear what the incentive at the end was though - they didn't sell it very well. I think with the motivation he'll get the grades - it's the motivation that's the issue now.
posted by grahamwell at 2:55 PM on November 6, 2006

Surrey is a good uni, but check what they teach, for example at my uni (Herts), they teach an out to date version of an unpopular recording package...

Whereas the college my friend went to taught him the up-to-date version, on top of the range (ie, very expensive!) gear. He did the tests written by the people who make the hardware + software, and is one of a handful of people in the country with his qualification, and still couldn't get a job in a studio.

http://www.alchemea.com/ He went here, I recorded there for one of his projects, and it really is an amazing place, and he learnt so much. I'd definately recommend that route over a university Music Tech course, but obviously you miss the social side of having been to uni.

Also, does he actually enjoy music tech? Just because he likes being in a band doesn't mean he enjoys engineering/mixing/mastering, they're two very seperate things, and while alot of people like both, alot also only like/are good at one or the other.

My advise would definately be doing something academic, while plugging away with writing/performing music in the background, and if that happens, put uni on hold, I never intended to leave uni, my status would have been "resting" and I think I could have gone back for up to 5 years as if I'd never left.

Also, don't go "pro" with a band unless you absolutely get on with everyone. You'll irritate the hell out of each other even if you're best mates, let alone if you barely know each other.
posted by chrispy108 at 3:40 PM on November 6, 2006

(Long answer ahead. Email in profile if you would like more info - I would be more than happy to chat).

I am a music major at a large state school in the US, so I may or may not be more qualified to answer this question. I know that there are some other music major MeFites, and hopefully they will weigh in.

It was a big decision for me to decide to major in music. To be fair, I am actually getting a double degree in performance (trombone) and education, which is a 5 year thing that takes a lot of extra work. The education degree will likely give me a much higher chance of becoming employed (teaching primary or secondary band, choir, or orchestra), but that's not why I'm doing it - other factors had to do with me deciding that I would like to become a teacher. But that's beside the point.

I see a lot of music students who decide to major in music because they don't really know what else to do. This is a huge mistake - I can't stress it enough. Often, these are the folks who end up not practicing, not playing enough, and they waste a couple of years in college (uni) before they realize that - oh wait - maybe I'm not cut out to become a professional musician. It is hard, hard work and the amount of dedication required to succeed in music school is absolutely equal to the amount of dedication required to succeed in med school. He will be expected to practice for at least 3 hours a day. He will have to take theory and history classes. He will have to take other non-music classes (probably, depending on how his school is set up). It will be hard. It will also be very rewarding.

Again, I'm not sure what it's like in the UK, but here there are a fair number of people who major in music, minor (or double major!) in biochemistry, and go on to med school. This (also) requires lots of time, effort, and devotion, but is very possible, and I encourage him to look into this as well.
posted by rossination at 5:11 PM on November 6, 2006

Music or Medicine?

Yes

(it's too early to choose, pursue both now - pre-med just means getting a few basic science courses in, one can still major or minor in music. anyway, being a talented musician is all about practising not education)
posted by caddis at 5:46 PM on November 6, 2006

It's possible to have one as a career and one as a hobby to escape the day to day career. Being a successful cardiologist would let you buy a lot of vintage equipment and a home studio. Just.. saying.
posted by kcm at 6:00 PM on November 6, 2006

There are some common traits of the people I know who have done well in medical training (they're in their late 20s/early 30s now, and still in the training phase. This is in Canada and the US; the track may be different in UK).

They have excellent self-discipline and study habits. The amount of material you have to absorb in upper-level university science courses, and in medical school, is incredible. A person who wants to let things slide for a few weeks and then catch up in a big whack of studying just before the exam will not succeed in medical training. A person who will make his own flash cards to remember all the diseases that can be caused by a certain microorganism -- that person will succeed. That said, there are a lot of career options (within and outside of medicine) that are kept open by pursuing the preparation for medicine. If you're taking hard science courses in uni, those courses and quantitative skills can be used for lots of purposes once you get your degree.

Music can be a very satisfying thing to study, but he should talk to a career counsellor (not sure what such a person is called in UK schools) or to one of his music teachers about how many options there will be for different jobs with that degree. Suppose he starts as an audio tech and hates it; what else can he do with that preparation? Would he like to teach; if so, are there good opportunities to support yourself by teaching music in the place he thinks he might want to live?
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:05 PM on November 6, 2006

The nice thing about medicine is that you'll have money for nice instruments. Sometimes music-for-money-instead-of-love ruins the love. With medicine, your hobby cost is not an issue...
posted by mmdei at 7:25 PM on November 6, 2006

How about Music Therapy?
posted by fvox13 at 8:48 PM on November 6, 2006

From the people I've known both suceeding and failing at (UK) medical schools, I'd say that if he isn't absolutely certain that he wants to go for medicine then he probably shouldn't. Firstly, it seems to me (from the outside) a long, hard and frequently thankless slog that you have to be properly motivated to get through. So unless he's one of those lucky people who can effortlessly soak up vast amounts of information, or who is prepared to work hard for five years+ and be prepared to plan his social life around his academic schedule, then it might not be a great idea.

Secondly entrance to med courses is incredibly competitive, and he'll be up against people (mostly descended from doctors) who've wanted to go into medicine for years, and will have relevant work experience, A-levels and gap years racked up behind them. If you have to talk him into applying then I can't imagine he'll convince an interview panel that he really wants to be there.

All that said, if he's curious, then I believe some UK universities do 'taster courses', where they give you three or four days of undergraduate medical workload, plus undergraduate medical lifestyle (read; drinking binges) to see how you cope. (eg; http://www.london.ac.uk/tasters)
posted by Luddite at 4:36 AM on November 7, 2006

Whoops; having actually read your question properly, what I should have said was that amongst the med students I've known (I got to know quite a few) the motivations have varied, from long-term parental pressure to worrying needs to be an authority figure and at least several with keen senses of social justice and genuinely wanting to help people. Plus several who weren't quite sure why they were doing it, but were the sort of person who once they decided they were going to succeed at something kept grinding away until they got there.

The people I knew who dropped out tended to do so not because they cracked, but because they found some other aspect of university life more engaging than their course - the two I knew who dropped out didn't want to quit medicine, but they consistently got the balance wrong with other commitmments (in the performaing arts, as it happens) and slowly failed just too many exams.
posted by Luddite at 4:45 AM on November 7, 2006

Yes, in the UK choices about the right prerequisite courses for Medicine start much earlier than in the US system. He cannot get locked into doing only medicine by his choices, but he can quite easily get locked out (until he passes the right subjects somehow).

My advice on two competing strong favourites is to consider which one can meaningfully be done as an amateur -- which would say study Medicine. However, it is not clear how strong his liking for Medicine is. There certainly are taster courses out there which may help him, and he will have a school "work experience" opportunity soon which he can try to do in a medical establishment (though limited by patient's privacy).

My other bit of standard advice is that is rarely worth taking a subject you hate just for career reasons -- the career is likely to contain too many aspects you hate. You might claim that the Medicine is an exception, but if he chooses his subjects for the last school years based on the entry requirements for Medicine and he doesn't get a place, will those subjects help him to another career that he would enjoy? (given that school subjects at 14-16 do not well match the more advanced 16-18 content which is not itself a good guide to university courses).

I agree with various misgivings about the earning potential of a music career.
posted by Idcoytco at 6:21 AM on November 7, 2006

The future of Medicine in the UK is changing drastically (Google Modernising Medical Careers) although the comments above re: being locked into it at an earlier stage than in the USA are very valid.
It is a long slog and requires an amount of focus, self-discipline and determination.
If he's remotely interested in Surgery, get in contact and I can get him speaking to some people who can give good advice. If he is good with his hands, etc.,have a look at the profiles on this page
With the advent of the 48hour week in 2009, however, most surgeons are very worried about how they will gain their competencies in index procedures.

Don't blithely assume that Medicine in this country is a guaranteed earner once one is finished Med School. Things are a-changing.

Watch out for headlines next year with unemployed junior doctors who have finished both Med School and their Foundation year programmes and still cannot get a job. Second round of job offers for this brave new world should be in early June, so it may be lost in the July doldrums. But I doubt it.
posted by Wilder at 7:51 AM on November 7, 2006

Thanks very much for all of the responses here. I was hoping that I could point him here instead of trying to precis a complex issue (about which I am simply a bundle of prejudices), and you have done me proud. I don't know how the discussion will go but I think all of the issues are covered, with good pointers for further research. Thanks again.
posted by grahamwell at 1:05 PM on November 8, 2006