Careers: using your music degree
Your degree with us really is just the beginning, and it can take you wherever you want to go.
The musical excellence, academic aptitude and personal skills that you develop on your course will make you highly prized by employers. Indeed, our students have great success in the graduate job market, usually in careers involving music.
So, whether you make music central to your career, or use the many other skills learned with us to work in a different industry, a world of opportunity awaits.
Careers with music
In recent years, graduates have gone on to work for - among others - the Royal College of Music, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Society, the Association of British Orchestras and the Royal Academy of Music.
As well as working as professional performers and composers, our graduates have gone on to work in a range of fields related to music. These include recording engineering, audio pragramming, music research, instrument repair, artist/orchestral management, concerts coordination and music therapy. Teaching and lecturing is also a popular choice.
The musical and academic rigour of your course at Sheffield will stand you in good stead for further study. Many students stay in Sheffield to take advantage of our diverse range of MA courses.
Other careers
Make no mistake, our courses will push you, and not just musically; you will learn to take a historical perspective of music, critically analyse texts and work as a team. By the end of the course you will possess brilliant time management and interpersonal skills. You will have the chance to explore the science of sound and computer music programming, honing your IT skills with the latest technology.
These skills have seen our students flourish in a range of careers, and not just in music. Graduates have gone on to work in management, marketing and government - to name just three.
However you choose to use your skills, from the starting point of our excellent teaching and support, you can flourish in a wide range of careers.
How will the Department of Music prepare me for the graduate world?
From the beginning of your course you are encouraged to think seriously about your future after graduation. By the middle of level two many students are teaching and performing locally, forging valuable contacts in the region.
The University Careers Service offers extensive help to all students and provides a wide-ranging program of career-related events each semester. It also hosts a number of seminars specifically for music students, where there is the opportunity for a one-to-one interview with a Careers Service member of staff.