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General Music

Types of Degrees General Music Majors Are Earning

Those studying General Music have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	39
Associate’s Degree	1,009
Bachelor’s Degree	7,179
Master’s Degree	1,848
Doctor’s Degree	612

What General Music Majors Need to Know

Programs in General Music emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that General Music graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in General Music emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a General Music program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Instructing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to General Music careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Speech Recognition — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, General Music graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.5 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.3 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.3 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.1 / 7
Developing Objectives and Strategies	4.1 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.1 / 7
Getting Information	4.0 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.0 / 7
Working with Computers	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by General Music professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Common Curriculum	Computer based training software	—
Desmos	Analytical or scientific software	—
Google Meet	Video conferencing software	—
Google Classroom	Project management software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
ABC programming language	Development environment software	—
Logo design software	Development environment software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for General Music graduates include:

• Physics Teacher
• Math Instructor (Mathematics Instructor)
• Foreign Language Teacher
• PE Teacher (Physical Education Teacher)
• Language Arts Teacher
• High School Spanish Teacher
• Organ Teacher
• Athletic Instructor
• Social Science Teacher
• Piano Teacher
• Manual Arts Teacher
• Exercise Teacher
• Science Teacher
• Athletics Teacher
• HS Math Teacher (High School Mathematics Teacher)

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to General Music graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	73.7%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	7.3%
Post-master’s certificate	7.2%
Master’s degree	4.5%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	3.7%
Less than a high school diploma	1.3%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.8%
Doctoral degree	0.6%
Some college courses	0.6%
Post-doctoral training	0.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in General Music?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 47% women and 53% men among General Music graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	5,029	47.0%
Men	5,661	53.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of General Music graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	5,989	56.0%
Asian	641	6.0%
Hispanic or Latino	1,782	16.7%
Black or African American	738	6.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native	36	0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	18	0.2%
Two or More Races	546	5.1%
Race Unknown	242	2.3%
International Students	698	6.5%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do General Music Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of General Music graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$29,248
4 years	$35,586
5 years	$40,828

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $40,828 — roughly 40% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online General Music Programs

Distance learning is tracked by IPEDS for General Music. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	7	12
Bachelor’s	8	16
Master’s	12	14
Doctoral (Research)	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in General Music Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, General Music graduates earn a median of $35,586 four years after completion — about 6% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Music	50.09
Brass Instruments	50.0914
Conducting	50.0906
Jazz/Jazz Studies	50.0910
Keyboard Instruments	50.0907
Music History, Literature, and Theory	50.0902
Music Pedagogy	50.0912
Music Performance, General	50.0903
Music Technology	50.0913
Music Theory and Composition	50.0904
Music, Other	50.0999
Musicology and Ethnomusicology	50.0905

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.