Music Or Engineer?

[Mango]

Hello I am 24 F from India .. I seeing all the videos really instilled a lot of positive changes in me and one of the profound changes I made is to realize my passion in life. I am an engineer by profession but that never really interested me. I put a lot of thought into finding my passion and discovered that my love for music is very deep and that I want to take up music as my profession. But then it will take me minimum of 4 years to reach a platform where i can compete and make good music. I started learning few months back and my teacher says that I have good talent and that I need to put in extra effort and I would definitely have chance of succeeding. On the other hand I want to do an MBA which can give me a good financial security. Now I am at a point where I can choose passion that I discovered very late and which may or may not have a fair chance of success or I can keep my passion as a thing that I want to master in life like a hobby and make arrangements for permanent financial security by doing an MBA. Which will give me happiness in long term? 

[Extreme Z7]

I'd love to hear the kind of music you could make!

I also love making music but I'm more into making electronic stuff.

 

Edited February 10, 2016 by MaxWare1997
Add missing word

[Progress]

You can either take your chance with the world or cower away from it. Be smart with it however. 

[clytaemnestra]

Same here. Love or money. The question is now.

[Abhijeeth]

Sir , I am just 14 years. But I have observed Leo's video.

You are 24. The food we eat ( the pesticide hitten ones) will make us survive till say 50. You have 25 years left. that will slide away like the24 years you have already lived. LIFE IS SHORT. LIFE IS SHORT. 

You must pursue music. It may be fearful for you to do that. But you have to what is the most emotionally difficult to get the ultimate satisfaction out of life

If you pursue engineer , You will be crumpled day by day as you grow older ( eg. My parents ) . It's NEVER too late. You are young. Come On.

But take more time to find your passion.

 

[Sarah Marie]

If you had an unlimited amount of money which would you choose? 

[nbolt]

6 hours ago, MaxWare1997 said:

I'd love to hear the kind of music you could make!

I also love making music but I'm more into making electronic stuff.

 

nice work! I want to get more into electronic music production as well.

[Midlife Crisis]

In a way music is engineering but of a different sort. You don't have to quit your day job in order to do your life purpose. Go with the fire you feel within that will bring the best energy to the world.

[DanoDMano]

@ChiguIn my opinion I'd stick to the engineering and complete that goal first. In the mean time perfect your musical skills and once you think your good enough, start auditioning at various clubs, café's or wherever your music genre is best excepted. Start out part time and weekends. If you have enough money, have your music professionally recorded and promote it everywhere you can. Then when you know your music can support you independently you can make your engineering career secondary, but always there to fall back on should you ever need it.

The entertainment / music industry is a very cut throat and deceptive business and although you may love music itself, you may not like that type of world that it revolves around. Music is in my opinion is one of the greatest and creative things mankind has ever produced. Unfortunately mankind has also created the industry itself and in my opinion it's far from great and quite the opposite. Good luck in your journey .    

[Ben Landrail]

Too little information to give a satisfying answer.

What do you want to do in music? How do you know you have a passion for it? A passion for what exactly - listening, performing, composing, teaching? You want to become a professional at what? What genre do you want to work in? What do you know about your country's music industry? Before you answer these questions, you can't make a sensible decision, not to mention expecting someone to help you with it.

Here's a piece of data. The absolute majority of musicians combines music with working part-time. You don't have to have an MBA or be an engineer. You can just design your life in such a way that your part-time work that takes 4-5 hours a day will allow you to pay the bills and devote the same 4-5 hours a day to music. Which is enough to reach a very good level in 4-5 years. Is it realistic for you? Are you willing to do this?

Do some self-reflection, then ask again. 

[ayokolomo]

My friend.  Coming from a person who made the business choice over the music choice many, many years ago, I would say choose the music.

Most of the people I know who chose music are much more content than those that chose the "rational" choice. Sone are even rich and famous.  

But know that the life of a musician can be incredibly hard, you must truly love the music.

[Walter B]

2 hours ago, DanoDMano said:

@ChiguIn my opinion I'd stick to the engineering and complete that goal first. In the mean time perfect your musical skills and once you think your good enough, start auditioning at various clubs, café's or wherever your music genre is best excepted. Start out part time and weekends. If you have enough money, have your music professionally recorded and promote it everywhere you can. Then when you know your music can support you independently you can make your engineering career secondary, but always there to fall back on should you ever need it.

The entertainment / music industry is a very cut throat and deceptive business and although you may love music itself, you may not like that type of world that it revolves around. Music is in my opinion is one of the greatest and creative things mankind has ever produced. Unfortunately mankind has also created the industry itself and in my opinion it's far from great and quite the opposite. Good luck in your journey .    

The engineering, science, teaching world is on the other hand designed to keep us working for free and forever and having our creativity equally robbed from us through control of intellectual property. "Being a slave to the man" in some sayings.

It is just as dangerous and cut-throat as the entertainment industry. However, in entertainment or other less secure occupation there is much more money to go around. It seems backwards to me, but don't fight it. Just make the most of it!

Whatever makes you feel alive! You're dying otherwise.

[DanoDMano]

@Elemental Wow... I had no clue about that career field. Too bad because I'm sure that's where you can find some of our most creative and brightest minds. I guess in todays world it pretty much doesn't matter what field you pursue, it's always the me verses you mentality.

[Seven]

I was a decent amateur/semipro rock musician and I've quit my job 1,5 years ago to pursue my passion,

but I still work long shifts during the weekend to have a basic income.

I think its the best thing I've ever done. During the week I only practice piano, study music theory/harmony, aural training... 

A full time career makes it much harder to become a master musician i think, because I believe that one needs to spend 6-8 hours a day for several years to become a master on any instrument or in composition, if you want to be highly skilled.

You can become a good amateur musician with 2-3 hours practice per day, maybe with 1 hour a day... but being a pro musician has so many other facets besides the playing itself. And its those other qualities that push your musicality that much further and make you a pro.

It all depends on what you really want. Do you want to be playing,practicing and studying all day?  (mind that many musicians, even the best and experienced concert virtuoso's and jazz musicians, and guitar heroes study and practice hours a day)

Would you love to devote your life to music, and don't care about money as long as your basic needs are met?

Do you really live for music, in whatever form or genre it may be? It has to be something like a calling or religious thing I believe.

Now that there will be bad days, plateaus and setbacks, it wont always fun. It takes discipline.

 

Think about it, then maybe try it out... get a part time or weekend job and start grinding. 

After all you can always go back to engineering.

 

edit -> I hope youre at least early intermediate or higher skilled, because I think it would be crazy to be a total beginner and make a career switch. You can practice while doing a daytime job whe, you start out ofcourse

 

 

 

Edited February 12, 2016 by Seven

[Abhijeeth]

Seven.... I do get your point....But if his life purpose is to be a mucisian , he is going to outstand others

And of course will easily earn huge amounts of money

 

[Seven]

29 minutes ago, Abhijeeth said:

Seven.... I do get your point....But if his life purpose is to be a mucisian , he is going to outstand others

And of course will easily earn huge amounts of money

 

I don't think that there is something like outstanding others in Art.

I also don't believe that being highly succesful in arts will make you a (material)fortune.

A LOT of masters/pioneers in any kind of artform were not financially succesful. And lots of them werent even that famous when they were alive.

If your life purpose is to become a musician/artist as main priority, you simply have to want it above all else, knowing that it could be the only thing you have and still be unmeasurable happy with it. All others things that come with being succesful as an artist, are extras.

If you're goal is making huge amounts of money and outstanding others, then you may be missing the point of life purpose.

 

 

 

[Ben Landrail]

@Seven So very true. It's not only the practice, it's the kind of mindeset you have and the persperctive through which you see life. You can't be spending 10 hours a day on work, including commute, and hope to be a pro musician. You have to think, experiment in your head, be immersed in music. 

That is, if you want to be a really good creative musician and do something meaningful with your talent. 

[Abhijeeth]

Seven .... You don't understand what I'm saying

I said that if one is passionate about music... Then he will be able to make money easily

[Rufus]

It happened to me when I studied Graphic Design, not too long until I found that it is not yet my favorite thing to do and I started to gradually shift to 3D animation then Music, after several years in the visual industry I succeeded in switching my Job title 100% as a music composer, and I'm doing fine so far..
Due to my extreme philomath personality, I'm realizing now that I'm growing interests in other total different fields as well and I might change my career once every while. although I don't regret my past knowledge because amazingly all knowledge fields are connected in a way or another, unfortunately, it's difficult to obtain an official certificate in everything you master, but maybe your passion will reflect on your works and that's what will attract your future clients/employers. it needs a leap of faith to switch between professions because it's full of risks.
I'm thinking about it, why not? Life purpose is an ongoing journey, you just don't stay doing one thing and say that's it as long as you feel that you want something different

[Walter B]

12 hours ago, DanoDMano said:

@Elemental Wow... I had no clue about that career field. Too bad because I'm sure that's where you can find some of our most creative and brightest minds. I guess in todays world it pretty much doesn't matter what field you pursue, it's always the me verses you mentality.

Yes, it's a real shame. At least in my experiences, that's all I got. People who sell your IP right out from underneath you. The ones with the lawyers and money just make more money and the "minds" just get used up. 

I'm sure there are some companies that compensate and share royalties more generously. But all in all, it takes so many people to see a concept to completion that they spread the money thin amongst them. And everything is so compartmentalized to protect IP leaks within the company that it's easy for the "minds" to be taken advantage of.

And teaching...shew! Might as well have a bunch of kids and a wife and get some food stamps, because they only pay a single person just enough to keep them above poverty level and expect us to put our all into training the next great minds. I gave up fighting that governmentized over regulated department of education brainwashing system! That only pays 10 dollars per hour if you add up all it takes to be a real good teacher outside of campus time. It's ridiculous.