Career Center Home • Career Glossary • Music Education • Continuing Education • Resources

Scholarship Resources for Music Students

• List of some music scholarships available to high school and college students.

NAfME Forums and Online Mentors

• Talking to others is often one of the best resources. NAfME Mentors are veteran teachers who monitor the NAfME Forums and answer questions (other NAfME members also give feedback). Browse the forum postings to get an idea of what’s going on in classrooms today.

Available Music Education Positions

• Education Week – “American education’s newspaper of record.” Read their Teaching Now blog. See also Teacher Magazine and job postings on Top School Jobs.
• Job Center – NAfME has job postings on our site, as well as an area where members can post their credentials for employers to review.
• The NAfME Federated State Associations post available music teaching jobs on some of their websites. Check each state’s site for openings, to determine which states have the strong music support, and for other teaching resources.

The Job Search and Preparing to Teach

• A Career Guide for Music Education – This online source starts at the very beginning of the job search, and includes guidance on attending graduate school.
• Finding Your First Job as a Public School Music Teacher - This article provides helpful information about finding a job, and then deciding if it’s the job you want.
• Find a Job – A compilation of job listing sites and networking resources.

NAfME Books

For potential and new teachers

• Great Beginnings for Music Teachers: Mentoring and Supporting New TeachersThis practical guide covers the challenges faced by beginning music teachers, district and state-sponsored mentoring and induction programs, alternative certification, and ideas for ongoing professional development.
• Teacher to Teacher: A Music Educator’s Survival GuideAn excellent resource for beginning teachers, it includes chapters on classroom management, relationships with colleagues and students, setting goals, curriculum, training, working with parents and the community, and the importance of staying musical.
• Exploring Careers in Music, 2nd EditionThis publication covers various music career opportunities and their required skills and training.
• Categorized list of selected NAfME books

Selecting and Preparing for Music School

• National Association of Schools of Music – A good resource for any questions you have about music schools.
• Entering Conservatory, College, University, as a Music Major – NASM website
• Online Music Degree
• Federal Education Budget Project – An in-depth study of financial aid, student demographics, and outcome data from post-secondary institutions, searchable by institution or state.

Music Career Links

• NAfME Career Glossary
• Music Careers In Dollars and Cents, 2012 Edition
• Center for Arts Education: Career Development Program
• Berklee College Careers in Music
• Music Alive Career articles
• American Federation of Musicians career articles
• ASCAP Career Development
• School Band and Orchestra College Search and Career guide (Look under “Resources.”)
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Music Industry/Business Information

• Music Business Handbook And Career Guide by David Baskerville, Ph.D. – The latest edition of this classic text is the most comprehensive, up-to-date guide to the $100 billion music industry. More than 100,000 students and professionals have turned to earlier editions of the Baskerville Handbook to understand the art, profession, and business of music.
• All You Need to Know About the Music Business by Donald S. Passman – Written by a well-respected music business attorney; gives specific facts on what to expect when you enter the music business.
• Music Products Industry Information for Students
  • NAMM
  • Conn-Selmer Institute

Note: Non-NAfME websites linked from this site are listed for information purposes only. Their inclusion does not constitute endorsement of their content by the National Association for Music Education.