Student reflection by Chris Kane

Musical Pathways was a rewarding experience for me as a final-year Music student, both in terms of my input into the early stages of the project and in what I learned by attending the various sessions. The main purposes of these sessions were to create an environment in which students could discuss and network with university staff and professionals, talking about the potential careers available to them in the music industry.

In this project, I liaised with the core team, acting as a voice for students and highlighting the key areas of the music industry that students wanted to know more about. This helped give us plan topics for the first session, which took place in November 2022. Through this and the subsequent workshops I gained valuable insight into the music industry thanks to Mark and the rest of the team.

The first workshop took place in ECA and was a welcoming experience. We heard about Mark’s first-hand experiences as an established industry professional, and his personal insights on how to kickstart a professional career in music. Then attendees shared aspirations for their futures outside of academic study. The second session in March was planned around these student stories and insights. The workshop featured talks from members of Help Musicians and Musicians Union to highlight where students can get support when pursuing a career in the music industry. Team member and University Careers Consultant Gina Black also gave an insightful talk about some of the many career paths that can be followed through completing a degree in music, identifying key employers and resources dedicated to creative industry recruitment sites such as Prospects and Creative Scotland, to name but a few. In May, the Musical Pathways workshops were wrapped up nicely with a relaxed networking event, allowing students to enjoy an end-of-week drink while mingling with university staff and industry professionals. This is the first workshop of its kind that I’ve experienced at university, and personally, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Just as I was starting to ask myself the dreaded final year question of “What’s next?” the Musical Pathways sessions helped create a space where I could assess my career options and have open discussions about professions in the music industry.

I learned a lot from listening to the insight of the Musical Pathways team and the various guests. Firstly, through listening to the stories from numerous industry professionals, I learned that the music scene has countless routes to pursue in terms of future employment. Being involved in the workshops opened me up to the work done by the University Careers Service. After the sessions there were opportunities to talk to Gina about any hopes and concerns we had for our careers and this was something I took full advantage of. I found the meeting so useful that I booked in several more over the academic year, as it helped me assess all my options post-studies. I’m thankful for the help of Gina and the University Careers Service and I would highly encourage others to use the valuable resources they provide, as this is only one of the many ways they support students with their career.

However, the most important piece of information I took home with me was the idea that the music industry is not an “all or nothing” career path – for example, having an occupation in the music industry doesn’t have to be the only thing you aspire to work towards in your professional life. This was something I did not really take on board until these sessions: believing the converse of this has been a daunting factor for me in the past. After hearing stories about musicians struggling in their industry, I was apprehensive about going down this route. But the Musical Pathwavs workshops showed ways to follow a career as a musician alongside other professions, and this is exactly what I’m doing now as I finish my time at University and move on. I’ve begun to establish a career in performing and applying for a part-time Masters in Marketing, which I can complete alongside other work. This balance was something I had not considered before the Musical Pathways sessions.

I’m truly grateful to Mark, Gina and Nikki for letting me be a part of such a valuable project, and thoroughly look forward to seeing the positive benefits that arise because of it!

Chris Kane, 20 June 2023