Hey everybody,
I am just about to enter my first year of college and I have been playing guitar now for a little over two years. I was wondering if anybody knows of any careers I could pursuit relating to guitars or any good programs to go into. I appreciate all your imput.

1. Major in in Music and become a music teacher/instructor
2. Get a business degree with a minor in music and open your own guitar shop. Eventually work yourself into a position with a guitar manufacturer.
3. Find a musical technical college and learn to become a luthier.
4. Form a professional band

That's about all I know in the musical field.

RK

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

1) Electrical Engineering, if you can do it ...
All that guitar gear you love is made by companies that hire lots of electrical engineers that are very well paid. This is a great backdoor into the music industry without compromising job stability or high-paying work.

2) Become a recording engineer. Not all colleges will have degrees in this, though.

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Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

I thought of these 2 careers as well, but I figured he wanted to keep guitars in his hands. These are very good career fields as well.

RK

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

Naturally there's always the option of pursuing something NOT necessarily specifically guitar related as your area of focus (example: computer science / software engineering in my case) and then keeping an eye on the guitar industry for openings in that area. If you do that you can really pack a solid punch -- you'll have relevant skills but also relevant instrument/industry knowledge and hence you'll have a clear advantage over your fellow applicants.

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Director at Fender. Guitarist & guitar collector. All views/opinions expressed here are my own and not Fender’s.

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@brad_on_guitar

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Another good point by our Administrator. Thanks Brad, another career choice to help you get into the field.

RK

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

I really want a career in music, and I have been sitting for hours pondering what I can do.
Firstly, a session musician was suggested to me by the head of music in the college I am starting next year. Then, somebody mentioned writing music for movies and TV, which is something I know I could do so well.

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Turn the drums up in the umm, ear goggles

All of the session musicians that I know also have to teach to make a living.

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Website: http://www.rebeccalaird.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccalairdmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/beckslaird
Instagram: http://instagram.com/beckslaird

You could always have a sex change, lots of plastic surgery and become one of those smokin' hot models who wear nothing but a guitar for manufacturers' ads or, wear the least amount legally acceptable at NAMM and related shows showcasing guitars.

I didn't say it was a good idea, its just another, "alternative".

Seriously, with the exception of my suggestion, see if you can at least to some extent, get involved in all the above niches and see where they lead. I do know that word of mouth is just as, if not more important than many a, "sheepskin" in so many circles. The reason being, people have to know first hand your current capabilities, not what classrooms and clinical setting may or may not have taught you. Sure, education is intrinsically vital but someone having the ability to make a quick phone call to verify how you fit in and contributed to an actual situation 'yesterday' is infinitely more vital to your cause. You must make a name for yourself and be known in at least, some of these niches.

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You dig?

If you want to make a living off ONLY guitar-related fields, some ideas are...

- teaching guitar
- teaching bass
- customizing guitars
- playing/writing in original bands
- playing in cover bands
- playing in wedding/corporate event bands
- playing in small acoustic groups
- playing guitar, bass and/or acoustic in any variation of these
- playing short legs of tours with larger acts
- writing for other bands
- writing and recording for film soundtracks
- scoring films
- organizing bands for benefits and large fairs and events
- recording your parts for other bands
- recording other bands, in a studio or onsite

... these are just a small amount of ways you can make money. Some combination of all the above (what a lot of people do, including myself) can let you make a decent living (depending on what that means to you), or be a very nice extra income for your day job.

music is meant to be fun...jobs, not so much.

even if you dont get a job relating to guitars, nothing is stopping you from playing guitar on the side (maybe even making a little extra $$ playing small gigs)

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Paddle faster! I hear banjo music!

Not sure if I agree with that. I've had a lot of fun jobs, or I wouldn't have kept them. Music "is" fun, but there's no reason you can't have all that fun and make $$$ at the same time. And the paying gigs usually end up being more "fun" to me than just jamming in a basement.

And my day job, creative team lead for ad agency - tons of fun. Love it...

"In life you need to find what you like to do. Then you just figure out a way to make money doing it..."
-- A quote from someone smarter than me --

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Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

Haha, awesome quote.

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"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

http://www.guitarschools.com/guitar-car ... stics.html

http://www.guitarschools.com/index.html

Good luck!

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!