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There is a very interesting and to me surprising article in today's Daily Telegraph about the 'Percentage of students likely to end up in graduate employment or further study 15 months after graduating'. Of the best 10 the Royal College of Music came second with 88.3% behind Imperial College London, the Arts Education Schools were sixth with 85.8% and the Royal Northern College of Music tenth with 80.9%. Not at all the kind of result that I would have expected. Of course it doesn't tell you what the employment actually is or indeed whether it is music or arts related as I believe a considerable proportion of graduates end up in unrelated occupations. But encouraging news for those musically inclined?

Hello, Colin,

Interesting bit of info there, and one that I would be interested in as well. When I worked at the state technical college for many years as a program coordinator/instructor for the Air Conditioning Technology Program (AKA HVACR) we had to meet certain statistical benchmarks in order to keep the program open and operating.

There was a minimum requirement for the number of full time students enrolled, the number of graduates, and the number of job placements of graduates annually. Fortunately, during my tenure at the tech college, our program numbers were well above the minimum requirements, and, in fact, our program was one of more popular programs at the college.

As for the percentages of graduates of the Music Schools, who found employment "in field" as we used to call it, or, a "related field", I guess it would depend on the actual number of graduates in order to determine if the results were positive, or met or exceeded a certain minimum threshold.

As for whether or not Music, or in particular, "Piano Performance" is a good field to get into, in terms of making a good living, "in field", remains a good question.

If I had to depend on my musical skills and abilities to make a living, I'd likely be homeless, starving, and deprived of most material things.

But I do wish all those music school graduates well in their musical careers, and beyond.

Rick

Strictly speaking, these are not students becoming employed, but employed OR entering into further study.

I suspect what it really means is that the graduating BA and BMus students wind up flipping into master's programs.

This too, continuing education, was a positive outcome statistic at the tech college. A negative outcome was someone who dropped out of the program, didn't graduate, and didn't get a job in field or related field.

Of course, Colin mentioned that about further study in his original post.


Rick

Interesting way of thinking about the measurements. In some instances, further education has real value. In others, it is just kicking the can a little further down the road.

I agree.

And, I've seen a few people over the years who were perpetual/professional students. They'd finish one program of study and start another. Personally, I never could afford to be a professional student, continuously learning, buy never earning a paycheck.

Must be nice to be able to afford to do that... (make a career of being a student)

Rick

Completely free music selection on many different devices.

I agree, and it is so nice to listen to YouTube pianists.Who cares if the musicians are learned or not! It is the music that counts.

It's kind of difficult to be a musician if you haven't learned anything.

Anybody think they might be replying to spam? Look at the forum signature

This is a rather directionless thread, or it has become that.I am not quite sure what spam is though.

If you Google "Spam" some definitions might be "digital junk mail", or "unsolicited communication sent over the Internet".

There is also a canned meat product called Spam made of various scraps of meat. It taste pretty good fried, and can be eaten right out of the can, but certainly not healthy for you (think high salt and high cholesterol content ).

Actually, I wrote a song years ago entitled "Google my name if you want to know who I am". Part of the lyrics are,

"Google my name, if you want to know who I am.
Google my name, if you don't want a lot of SPAM.
Google my name, and I'm sure you will agree...
Google my name, if you want to know more about me"

I thought it would be a big hit on YouTube, but I guess not.

Rick

Hi Rickster
Yes I know the kind of spam that is sold it tins.Not my kind of food.I remember my son going on a camping trip with group of boys.One of the tins of food he took with him was spam.When it comes to online spam yes I kind of know.The techno words tend to expand in thier meaning to include a number of aspects.Just the other day someone used the word "troll" in a non offensive manner.("the next time you troll the weather.ap...)
So yes the online world seems to be changing.By the the way I liked your poem)

I found it difficult to understand the use of the word spam in this context however? Perhaps dogsperson just likes to keep us on our toes?..true the world can be a dangerous place?
It seems to be reasonably safe on PW though.

The term "spam" for unsolicited email comes from a Monty Python skit.

Hi, tre corda, sounds like you do know what both kinds of spam are...

In regards to my poem (song, but a song is a poem, and a poem can be a song:-), for the sake of conversation, here are all the lyrics/words to the song/poem, if you want to read them, or sing them. You can use your own melody or just use your imagination; oh, and the song has a bit of a Folkish/Country flair.

"We live in a time when you can go online and search the Internet.
It's the information age, more than a craze, you can learn a whole lot, you bet.
With just a little click here and a little click there, next thing you know you're everywhere,
Just Google my name, and you know that I'll be there...

Google my name, if you want to know who I am.
Google my name, if you don't want a lot of spam.
Google my name, and I'm sure you will agree...
Just Google my name, if you want to know more about me.

I'm the kind of guy who's a little shy, and I don't like to be in a crowd.
A soft spoken dude, never rude, ask me and I'll tell you why.
If you want to know more and you like to explore, my life's an open book and an open door...
Just Google my name, and then you know for sure.

Google my name, if you want to know who I am.
Google my name, if you don't want a lot of spam.
Google my name, and I'm sure you will agree...
Just Google my name, if you want to know more about me."

Okay, well, a bit corny, but it is original, if that counts for anything.

Oh yea, in regards to the title of this thread, I know I will never have a career in music, but that doesn't mean I can't have a boat-load of fun with my music!

"sounds like you know what both kinds of spam are" quote/Rickster

Sure, I just had a hope that "spam" like the word "troll" has become a little more benign, as it seemed a little out of place here. 😉 Perhaps I should be a little more vigilant?

By the way how do you like my hat? (as you can see I have changed my avatar again) That was OT, sorry could not resist.
Perhaps we should get back to education or over education?

Your poem is very good, but when I Google Rickster I cannot find you? I need to look on YouTube

If you look at the post signature of the spammer it is a link to web site not related to music or scores
The Post was just the opportunity to get a commercial link out there and on the Internet

And yes, PW gets spam. Beware of links, Especially from new members

Yes I just looked.That looks scary I agree, I see what you mean.

To reply to the original post: schools in the US are notorious for inflating their grad employment figures. Even law schools.

There are few jobs anywhere in music these days.

Yea, I like the new avatar, tre corda. I like the hat!

Years ago, my late wife was in a group called "The Red Hat Society". She had more than one "Red Hat" and would attend various events on occasion, with her sister, who was the instigator ( ), and all the other women were wearing red hats. I always went with her because she was disabled and in a wheelchair and needed assistance. But if it made her happy, it was fine with me.

I have a few hats myself, a couple of nice, western cowboy hats and a few Kodiac style hats made by "Outback Trading Company". Sometimes I'll wear my hats when I record my music videos.

As for Googling my PW forum name (which I've now come to think is a bit silly), you probably got a lot of Google hits from the Piano World Forum, which is the only place I'm known as Rickster.

By-the-way, my YouTube channel is posted in my PW signature line, like many other members here. I'll send you a PM with a video of my original song, "Google my name if you want to know who I am".

Ironically, when I Googled my name, I never realized there were so many other people with the same real name as mine, and some of them were on the Internet for unflattering reasons...

As for the most recent spam post here in this thread, there was a time when the moderators would take quick action and remove such activity quickly. But maybe no one reported it and they just don't know about it.

All the best!

Rick