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Career outcomes
Overview
Whichever major you choose to pursue in the Bachelor of Music, you will enjoy a wide range of employment options in a range of different industries. Explore some of the careers our graduates have moved into after graduating below.
Careers in: Jazz & Improvisation
Specialist studies in jazz can take you in a number of directions: from hands on performing and producing through to journalism and education. While the logical path is to become a performing musician, the Music Jazz & Improvisation major is your pathway to a range of employment options, including:
- Contemporary music arranger
- Reviewer
- Contemporary music educator
- Contemporary music performer for bands
- Studio and live recordings
- Film, theatre, television and live events
- Record producer
- Studio engineer
Further study options
You have the flexibility to enter the workforce straight from your undergraduate degree, or you may choose to progress to a fourth-year Honours degree.
Honours is an intensive and highly specialised one-year program designed to draw together your previous studies and focus your knowledge, skills and intellect, allowing you to master your field of knowledge and create a pathway into advanced graduate study options in music.
Alexandra Czarnecki-Roper
Meet Alexandra Czarnecki-Roper, Bachelor of Music (Jazz & Improvisation) graduate
Percussion graduate Alexandra Czarnecki-Roper didn’t secure a place at the Conservatorium straight away.
I studied for two years at another institution and, after gaining a lot of experience, decided to audition again, and made it through. I wanted to study at the Conservatorium because I really liked the idea of studying alongside students from other disciplines such as acting, photography and studio art. I also appreciated how well located and beautiful the Southbank campus was, being in the heart of Melbourne city, and near many amazing facilities like the NGV, Melbourne Recital Centre and Crossways.
Presenting my third-year recital was awesome and definitely one of the highlights of the course. It’s was great way to think about what you wanted to perform, and with whom, and you have the freedom to do it how you’d like to. It’s a chance to challenge yourself but also refine what it is you’re interested in, and perhaps even get some insight into what you’d like to pursue after university.
One of the most important skills I learned at the Conservatorium was how to manage my time. That will definitely help me to succeed in being a professional musician. I know now I’m able to achieve a lot – it just requires consistent and focused work, and using each day efficiently in a way that still works with my natural habits.
To people keen to pursue a career in music, I’d say: keep in mind that everyone is on their own path. No path is right or wrong.
Graduate pathways
Once you've completed your undergraduate degree, you can go on to gain employment or begin a graduate degree and work towards a professional qualification such as law, engineering or medicine. Or you could join our graduate research community and contribute to our world-changing research.
Your graduate degree will be internationally recognised, and set you apart from those who study a traditional Australian single or double degree.
Explore the graduate pathways available once you complete your undergraduate degree here.