Musicians and Singers
Play one or more musical instruments or sing. May perform on stage, for broadcasting, or for sound or video recording.
- Median pay
- Not reported
- Doing it now
- 170,400
- By 2035
- Up 0.3%
- Usually needs
- No formal educational credential
across the country
17,400 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Perform before live audiences in concerts, recitals, educational presentations, and other social gatherings.
- Sing a cappella or with musical accompaniment.
- Interpret or modify music, applying knowledge of harmony, melody, rhythm, and voice production to individualize presentations and maintain audience interest.
- Specialize in playing a specific family of instruments or a particular type of music.
- Sing as a soloist or as a member of a vocal group.
- Observe choral leaders or prompters for cues or directions in vocal presentation.
- Memorize musical selections and routines, or sing following printed text, musical notation, or customer instructions.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- MusicSee 1,080 colleges that teach it
- Drama/Theatre Arts and StagecraftSee 880 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Creative and expressive
Leading and persuading
Helping and teaching
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Pay is not reported for this occupation, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.