Musician-->Au.D

[TheEarpluggedDrummer]

Hi, all!

I'm new to the network, hoping to find some resources/advice in a major career transition.

I'm a drummer and I teach ~45 private lessons every week. That means that when kids get out of school they go home, do homework, do sports, hang out with their friends, and see me once a week between 2:30 and 8:30. I work Monday-Thursday from about 2:30-8:15 and then Saturdays from about 9-5. Pay is fine, my boss is talking about health benefits which would be a plus, but my main concern is the work-life balance. I'm not a fan of working that late regardless of how short my hours are, and I can't exactly leave work at work. I need to be up on trends in percussion and prep for lessons a lot at home, on top of planning massive concerts at the end of each semester to showcase my student's work. Long story short, I'm looking for something that has a more stable work/life balance and that won't make me hate music after a few more years.

Enter Audiology. I've heard some mixed reviews on salary relative to cost of schooling, but I'm pretty attracted to being able to work a 9-5 job and leave my work at work. Fine, continuing education and staying up with research and new tech in hearing aids, but at least I won't have to listen to new drummers play "Believer" by Imagine Dragons once a week for the rest of my life, right?

Anyway, I guess my main questions are as follows:

1. With a bachelor's in Music Pedagogy and a cumulative GPA of 3.12, is there anywhere that I am competitive from that standpoint?
2. I've read a lot about pre-req's that people didn't take before their programs that they wished they would have. Examples being mostly from the hard science field. What hard science classes should I have under my belt before I apply to any programs?
3. Besides opening my own practice (doubling as an audiologist and a business owner would kind of defeat the purpose here, haha), what are some of the ideal career options with an Au.D and why?

Thanks for the help!

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[Herville Melman]

Hi,

I live in Canada so things are different regarding admissions and programs... but I'm also a musician (bachelor in jazz guitar), worked as a music teacher for a few years, among other things, and I'm starting a a master of audiology in September. I had to take part-time classes for 2 years (statistics, linguistics, acoustics, neuroscience and psychology, all of which I had never studied before) to make that happen. I think the interview and my overall life experience/jobs played for a lot, in my case, as I certainly didn't have the best academic background. But who knows.

So of course I can't really answer any of your questions as of now... but if you're still curious in the coming year to know from another musician in this field, don't hesitate to ask me. Or if you have any other questions in the meantime.

Cheers and good luck!

 

[SophiaF1842]

I’m not certain about pre reqs and how long you’ve been out of school (science courses “expire” after 5 or so years), but you really won’t know how competitive you are until you look at your most recent several semesters, and your GRE score (in the US). Also, be prepared to get a doctorate, because Masters Degrees are phasing out.
Having said that, if you have the same GPA for your recent courses as your overall, and you do well on the GRE, you have a pretty good shot at the schools in Alabama (Auburn and Samford) at least. I’m in Tennessee, and it’s very very competitive at our schools. I don’t know much about outside the south, but I imagine they are less competitive when not near the Vandy powerhouse.
Tuition will be expensive unless you are lucky enough to be competitive for an in state program, and ASHA doesn’t offer too many scholarships, none that I know of for first year.
It depends on what state you practice in, as income drastically differs from California to Tennessee for example.
It’s also a good “building block” degree for those interested in other medical programs who aren’t yet competitive enough, or who want to add on an intraoperative component.

 

[Apprentice of St. Luke]

OP,

I am just curious, as I am only a pre-med student, but are you looking at audiology because it is a career in healthcare which builds off of your experience and training in music?