# Music Directors and Composers

SOC 27-2041. Page: https://educationguide.com/careers/music-directors-and-composers

Conduct, direct, plan, and lead instrumental or vocal performances by musical artists or groups, such as orchestras, bands, choirs, and glee clubs; or create original works of music.

## Pay and outlook
- U.S. median wage $73,710 (middle half $53,110–$104,090; BLS May 2025)
- Ages 25-34: median $50,762; 61% hold a bachelor's or higher (Census ACS 2020-2024)
- Jobs 2025-35: 1.2%; ~4.2k openings a year; typical entry: Bachelor's degree

## Fields of degree of young workers (ages 25-34, bachelor's+)
- Music: 42% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/music)
- Art And Music Education: 6%
- Computer Science: 5% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/computer-science)
- Psychology: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/psychology)
- Film Video And Photographic Arts: 2% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/film-and-photography)
- Marketing And Marketing Research: 2% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/marketing, https://educationguide.com/degrees/specialized-sales-merchandising-and-marketing-operations)
- Philosophy And Religious Studies: 2% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/philosophy, https://educationguide.com/degrees/religious-studies)
- Communications: 2% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/communications, https://educationguide.com/degrees/communication-journalism-and-related-programs-other)
- General Business: 2% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/business)
- Liberal Arts: 2% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/liberal-arts-general-studies)

## Median wage by state
- AL: $42,250
- CA: $93,090
- CO: $88,460
- CT: $77,070
- DC: $84,040
- FL: $57,830
- GA: $67,100
- HI: $74,570
- IA: $61,740
- IL: $49,270
- IN: $77,270
- MA: $78,620
- MD: $64,300
- MI: $59,400
- MO: $61,670
- MS: $62,240
- MT: $51,530
- NC: $63,380
- NJ: $122,750
- NY: $82,930
- OH: $61,380
- OK: $54,250
- OR: $60,800
- PA: $61,160
- TN: $79,640
- TX: $65,570
- UT: $82,570
- VA: $59,050
- WA: $75,060
- WI: $78,690

Method: https://educationguide.com/how-we-score#careers

Free to reuse with attribution: cite "EducationGuide.com" with a link to the page URL. Most figures are U.S. government data (public domain); loan default rates and athletics come from the Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By 1.0, attribution required) and founding years from Wikidata (CC0). O*NET data: CC BY 4.0, O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA).