Time is looming overhead. I have only so much time to decide what college I'm going to.

Brag time.

I'm a smart individual, actually very smart. On the PSAT's i scored 196 this last time (equivalent to roughly 2060 on the SAT's) which was in the top 5%. In math I got the top 3%. Reading top 5%. And writing top 17% (still good though). Took alg 1 in 7th grade, geo in 8th, alg 2 in 9th, precal in 10th, and am currently taking calculus AB. I have a B average due to laziness.

My parents could probably do a better job bragging about my intelligence.

My music ability for the amount of time I've been playing is virtually unparalleled. My guitar teacher, who claims to be the best guitarist on the east coast (If you saw him play you'd understand why), says that he's only had one other student like me (whatever that means). Also he doesn't give out compliments rarely ever. Actually I'd go so far as to say that I have gotten maybe 2 compliments out of him ever (in terms of guitar playing). My guitar teacher was offered a record deal at the age of like 14-16 (or some young-ass crap like that) of Joe Satriani's label (at the time). He declined because he wanted to do studio work. He has a shit-ton of contacts and knows tons of people and would be able to help me out.

My parents want me to pursue an engineering degree.
I have a passion for music.

This isn't about me putting on the internet how much better I am, but more I am looking for some meaningful insights.

So now then, SEN,
wat do?

If you enjoy math, programming, robotics, or anything like that related to Engineering, you should do that. And you should try them out if you haven't, to help you determine. If you don't enjoy them at all, I have no idea. Music'll probably be a dead end.

Aaaaand... why, if it's 196/240 and x/2400, would your 196 PSAT score correlate to 2060 as opposed to 1960?

My roommate is a music major. He's also musically gifted and played piano, viola, guitar, and other stringed instruments for a long time. During high school, his orchestra teacher allowed him to compose music for his class as extra curricular (mainly so he can put this on his college resume). And now as a music major...

Life is arduous. I myself am an engineering major and honestly he spends more time with school work than me. It may not seem like it at first, but music school is a lot more astringent than engineering school (this is overshadowed by the fact that music majors will have trouble finding stable careers after graduation). But what's sad is that, I will be making more money than him (even as a Civil Engineer, which typically of all engineering majors makes the least amount of money).

The thing is, though, he has a different purpose for his music major. He potentially wants to go into Christian Ministries (Seminary School) and with a music degree he can pursue a certain life rewarding path with it. Otherwise, the most plausible career he could pursue as a music major is a music teacher. There's just too many good musicians (both studied and not) but too few jobs.

Oh wait, I should've said this first but he is double majoring in both music and business. He's already finished his business credits (since that's what he got accepted into originally) but he made it quite clear that he doesn't want to go into business. But yes, his business degree is for good measures or could perhaps help him better find a(nother) job in the music business/industry. So that's probably the reason he isn't stressing too much about his future.


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Engineering will always provide one with a stable and successful career. The hard part is the school work but if you're as bright as you say you are then it shouldn't be any trouble at all. Your education is only there to provide you a job. You don't have to be passionate about your job, a job only does what it does: earn you money so that you can do something meaningful with your life (I mean, look at business majors or people who work at Wall Street, they probably could care less about the actual work of their job as long as they are earning big bucks).


My two cents? If you are passionate about music, make it your hobby, not your career. Your career/job is mundane and only suppose to earn you that money, but what makes your life count is your hobby. Even if you become, say a doctor, nobody is tell you you can't or shouldn't play music. As someone once said: don't play music for money, but play music because you have money.

Yup, music as hobby. If you're talented, you'll still be able to make money while composing only in your free time.

It IS possible to get somewhere with music as a hobby as an Engineer. I have two classmates who also compose electronic music and are highly ranked on some music website or something. They're pretty good.

IF (read IF) you're good enough for a music career this would be the more fun and rewarding route.
You'd travel around, meet people, and earn money (potentially much more than with an engineering job) while doing your hobby in front of a crowd.

I don't feel like elaborating more, but I think you get the idea.

Music, so you can tour in Ohio and I can see you [/stalker]

My old sax/guitar private instructor told me that he goes to guitar lessons once a year - $100 for an hour under who is pretty much his idol. I have always seen music as something that can't be learned in the class room, so I'd major in something else. Besides, no one is stopping you from taking music classes to some extent - you may be barred from upper division classes later on, though, unless you have a degree in the music school.

Here's what I think: your parents don't actually want you to become an engineer. What your parents want is to raise a decent child with a future. A child with a stable and secure future that can support himself. (and a family of his own, if he so chooses.) Becoming an engineer is a line of respectable work that will provide a decent and steady income while contributing to society. If you actually like the math and science and engineering, then yes, it would be worth pursuing. If you're good at it and enjoy doing it, that's a win-win. If you're just good at being an engineer, you can always do that as your "day job" and use the rest of your time for whatever you want. If you're good at being an engineer but hate it, you'd probably be better off sticking with music. You don't want to end up in a job that you can't at least tolerate.

What's associated with becoming a musician? Working paycheck-to-paycheck. Dealing with band drama and possibly drugs, sex, and other scandals. Hopefully landing that gig or record deal so that you can finally "make it". It's more of a gamble and I don't think parents like to see their children taking gambles. However, you are young and can afford to gamble a bit. If you want to spend a few years with music trying to get a career out of it, I'd say go and do that now instead of waiting 15 years and doing it while you're a 30-something engineer.

1. Record yourself playing guitar.
   
2. Put on YouTube.
   
3. Hope to get discovered.
   
4. If the latter, deal with your new, 12 year old fans.
   
5. Profit.
   

I'd say go for music, but that's on the basis that anyone can become an engineer if they want, but only a few individuals can be recognized as good musicians. Engineering may help society (and it's so cliche among jobs people want nowadays) but music can be inspirational.

Be an engineer, mostly for the same reasons as moose said. Also, engineering is a lot of fun (except for digging holes as a civil engineer but that builds muscles), don't listen to the people who say music is more fun than engineering. Maybe you're the kind of person who'd really hate engineering, but considering you're good at maths/science/etc. I'd say you would probably enjoy it a lot.

Let's just say... Agree with MiniMoose

Become an engineer, but spend your free time playing music. You can still be in a band, it just won't be your job.

Engineers make hella money, and it's a lot more promising than trying to become a musician.

To echo everyone else, choosing engineering will offer a much more stable life for the future. I hate to break your bubble, but chances are you are probably not quite as phenomenal as you think (a 196/240 on the PSAT is... not very impressive, and who knows how actually famous your guitar teacher is). But you don't need to be the best of the best to earn a living wage as an engineer. Making a living in music is much, much harder.

Quote from Mini Moose 2707

What's associated with becoming a musician? Working paycheck-to-paycheck. Dealing with band drama and possibly drugs, sex, and other scandals. Hopefully landing that gig or record deal so that you can finally "make it". It's more of a gamble and I don't think parents like to see their children taking gambles. However, you are young and can afford to gamble a bit. If you want to spend a few years with music trying to get a career out of it, I'd say go and do that now instead of waiting 15 years and doing it while you're a 30-something engineer.

ALthough I generally agree with this, I'd like to lower the gamble risk here: If you're as good as you say you are at music and you don't "make it", selling expensive musical instruments in a respectable shop is not a bad job at all. Please note that the chance of you "making it" in the music world are very low. Considering guitars only; nowadays, even on youtube, loads of guitarists can play as well as, or in fact even better than, the rock-stars that inspired them. To get somewhere in the music world today you don't just need to be talented and skilled with your instrument. The industry seems to be much more intertwined with other fields than it was before; you need to be politically-agile and charismatic - a good sales person in an industry of alike sales people.

You also need to consider what kind of people you like being around more: musicians or engineers. I understand that it's not easy since you haven't chosen your course yet, but remember to keep an open mind and accept any opportunity to mingle with the other crowd.

I'd personally go for the engineer. As people have said, it is a much more stable job which still allows you to have music as a hobby.

... sound/acoustics Engineer with a music minor? Look around, find random colleges that have good reviews and look through the programs they offer.

Should be possible. If you're determined to fulfill your passion just double major and spend an extra year or two in college.

Don't give him bad ideas. He needs to commit.

I think he's a junior from what he posted, so no he really doesn't have to yet.

He does by the time he goes to college. Dual-majoring music in engineering will be a waste of time and money.