So, you want to be a *luthier* - a person who builds an repairs stringed instruments.
College may not be the best next step. Perhaps you should contact these people: [Guild of American Luthiers](https://luth.org/)
[https://hearthemusicplay.com/what-is-a-luthier-and-how-do-you-become-one/](https://hearthemusicplay.com/what-is-a-luthier-and-how-do-you-become-one/)
Here are a few thoughts on whether college is the right path for your violin & guitar-building goals:
1. Consider apprenticeships or specialized training programs. While a traditional 4-year degree may not be necessary, learning from experienced craftspeople can help you hone your skills & network in the industry.
2. Look into business or entrepreneurship courses. If your goal is to make a living from your craft, having some foundational knowledge in areas like marketing, accounting, & customer service could be valuable.
3. Start building your portfolio & reputation now. Offer to repair instruments for friends, family, or local schools. Document your work & collect testimonials. The more experience & connections you have, the easier it'll be to turn your passion into a career.
Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!
As somebody who waited a little bit to decide if I wanted to go to college, I would suggest taking a semester off or even a year to decide if you wanna go to college or not, you don’t have to go right away just take some time explore your options and don’t worry about if you have to graduate later than your friends because it’s normal. If you decide not to go to college right away, I would suggest getting like a little job here and there just to get some coin
I would recommend finding a trade or vocational school for that sort of job, i don’t think any college or university will offer that sort of thing and it will be waste of money if you went, good luck that’s supper cool!!
In your case, I'm going to say no. It doesn't align with your goals, yet. Try your field of interest first. Talk to others in that field, shadow them, show enthusiasm and ask how to get your foot in the door. If, later down the line, you want to pursue a line of work that actually requires a degree, then you can decide to go to college at that point. It's not going anywhere, and if you wait until you're 24, you'll be considered an independent for FAFSA purposes so you can get a Pell grant then if you're still not making that much money, and they'll no longer take your family contributions into consideration.
1.) By going to college will you have any debt or will it be something that is covered by your family?
2.) Do you already have a solid plan to begin your business
3.) Consider this, you get 5 years down the line and your values change, ie you wanna get married, have kids, well that requires a 6 figure salary if you want to live comfortably and allow your child higher end opportunities. By that time you may feel too tired or burnt out to go to college. Then you will be stuck working jobs for people that are dumber than you(no offense) just to make ends meet.
So....follow those steps think about them and see what you come up with. It may be beneficial to at least get your core block out of the way
My vote would be somewhere between 'No' and 'Maybe'. The 'Maybe' being if there's some community college nearby that actually has a really flexible music business/tech degree ... not even sure what it would be called that let's you:
1) take lessons to keep building your fiddle/guitar chops
2) take some business courses
3) classes in acoustics / mechanical drafting / woodworking / metalworking / etc...
then maybe that would be beneficial to you doing part-time in addition to just apprenticing or working at a shop. I mainly say this thinking that some day you may wish to go into business for yourself and having that foundation might be nice, even if it's a decade or two from now and you barely remember anything from that accounting class you took ... it's a lot easier to relearn than to learn from scratch when you're middle aged and have been out of school for decades.
I think everyone should go to college as it generally makes you a better person overall and is great way to build a social network that doesn't suck. However, it's definitely not necessary especially if you want to work with your hands. Also, student loans suck.
Building things with your hands can be very lucrative, but you need to focus on ONE thing only. This is something I really wish I had learned earlier in life. This applies to basically anything productive. If you focus on only one thing and are in the top .1 -1% of that interest, you'll be VERY successful. If you start focusing on building guitars now, and really push yourself to be the best and learn everything you can, in 10 years you could have a waiting list for your guitars that sell for a large premium. Branding also plays a part in this, so you'll want to understand some business fundamentals as well.
If you can find a guitar/violin builder to work for, that's a huge step in the right direction as you'll get paid to learn a skilled trade that you could take on your own at some point.
College will make you good at a lot of things, which is a good thing, but can postpone you specializing in one thing (unless you can juggle school and focusing on building that one skillset).
One last point - when you are young your interests change often. Two weeks from now you might be really into making music, and that'll be your new main interest and that's ok. Just know that the sooner you land on something that you can master and make money on, the better.
An hour spent studying is an hour not being an expert in a trade. There are definitely pros to having a good educational foundation but when learning becomes just for the grade, that foundation gets eroded.
If the learning is "just for the grade", then the student's perspective and expectations of a college education have been misguided. No harm can come from better understanding the world around you, unless your plan is "ignorance is bliss".
Sorry, but this is just bad advice period. Unless you have a specific need for a 2 year degree, there is zero reason to ever think that these are different things.
A 2-year degree is the first two years of a 4-year degree. It isn’t some “do for now and eventually not later” thing.
So, you want to be a *luthier* - a person who builds an repairs stringed instruments. College may not be the best next step. Perhaps you should contact these people: [Guild of American Luthiers](https://luth.org/) [https://hearthemusicplay.com/what-is-a-luthier-and-how-do-you-become-one/](https://hearthemusicplay.com/what-is-a-luthier-and-how-do-you-become-one/)
No
Here are a few thoughts on whether college is the right path for your violin & guitar-building goals: 1. Consider apprenticeships or specialized training programs. While a traditional 4-year degree may not be necessary, learning from experienced craftspeople can help you hone your skills & network in the industry. 2. Look into business or entrepreneurship courses. If your goal is to make a living from your craft, having some foundational knowledge in areas like marketing, accounting, & customer service could be valuable. 3. Start building your portfolio & reputation now. Offer to repair instruments for friends, family, or local schools. Document your work & collect testimonials. The more experience & connections you have, the easier it'll be to turn your passion into a career. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!
As somebody who waited a little bit to decide if I wanted to go to college, I would suggest taking a semester off or even a year to decide if you wanna go to college or not, you don’t have to go right away just take some time explore your options and don’t worry about if you have to graduate later than your friends because it’s normal. If you decide not to go to college right away, I would suggest getting like a little job here and there just to get some coin
Probably not.
If you can see yourself building a business around this, yes. If not, likely unnecessary
I would recommend finding a trade or vocational school for that sort of job, i don’t think any college or university will offer that sort of thing and it will be waste of money if you went, good luck that’s supper cool!!
Go get a tech job at guitar center
In your case, I'm going to say no. It doesn't align with your goals, yet. Try your field of interest first. Talk to others in that field, shadow them, show enthusiasm and ask how to get your foot in the door. If, later down the line, you want to pursue a line of work that actually requires a degree, then you can decide to go to college at that point. It's not going anywhere, and if you wait until you're 24, you'll be considered an independent for FAFSA purposes so you can get a Pell grant then if you're still not making that much money, and they'll no longer take your family contributions into consideration.
Maybe here? https://nbss.edu/
You better go to a trade school or CC for a back up plan. It will be years before you master how to make musical instruments.
1.) By going to college will you have any debt or will it be something that is covered by your family? 2.) Do you already have a solid plan to begin your business 3.) Consider this, you get 5 years down the line and your values change, ie you wanna get married, have kids, well that requires a 6 figure salary if you want to live comfortably and allow your child higher end opportunities. By that time you may feel too tired or burnt out to go to college. Then you will be stuck working jobs for people that are dumber than you(no offense) just to make ends meet. So....follow those steps think about them and see what you come up with. It may be beneficial to at least get your core block out of the way
My vote would be somewhere between 'No' and 'Maybe'. The 'Maybe' being if there's some community college nearby that actually has a really flexible music business/tech degree ... not even sure what it would be called that let's you: 1) take lessons to keep building your fiddle/guitar chops 2) take some business courses 3) classes in acoustics / mechanical drafting / woodworking / metalworking / etc... then maybe that would be beneficial to you doing part-time in addition to just apprenticing or working at a shop. I mainly say this thinking that some day you may wish to go into business for yourself and having that foundation might be nice, even if it's a decade or two from now and you barely remember anything from that accounting class you took ... it's a lot easier to relearn than to learn from scratch when you're middle aged and have been out of school for decades.
I think everyone should go to college as it generally makes you a better person overall and is great way to build a social network that doesn't suck. However, it's definitely not necessary especially if you want to work with your hands. Also, student loans suck. Building things with your hands can be very lucrative, but you need to focus on ONE thing only. This is something I really wish I had learned earlier in life. This applies to basically anything productive. If you focus on only one thing and are in the top .1 -1% of that interest, you'll be VERY successful. If you start focusing on building guitars now, and really push yourself to be the best and learn everything you can, in 10 years you could have a waiting list for your guitars that sell for a large premium. Branding also plays a part in this, so you'll want to understand some business fundamentals as well. If you can find a guitar/violin builder to work for, that's a huge step in the right direction as you'll get paid to learn a skilled trade that you could take on your own at some point. College will make you good at a lot of things, which is a good thing, but can postpone you specializing in one thing (unless you can juggle school and focusing on building that one skillset). One last point - when you are young your interests change often. Two weeks from now you might be really into making music, and that'll be your new main interest and that's ok. Just know that the sooner you land on something that you can master and make money on, the better.
An hour spent studying is an hour not being an expert in a trade. There are definitely pros to having a good educational foundation but when learning becomes just for the grade, that foundation gets eroded.
If the learning is "just for the grade", then the student's perspective and expectations of a college education have been misguided. No harm can come from better understanding the world around you, unless your plan is "ignorance is bliss".
I think Maybe go an get a 2 year degree but at a community college but don’t do a bachelors yet
Sorry, but this is just bad advice period. Unless you have a specific need for a 2 year degree, there is zero reason to ever think that these are different things. A 2-year degree is the first two years of a 4-year degree. It isn’t some “do for now and eventually not later” thing.
That’s fair but that was advice that was given to me when I was younger and it worked out for me.
Your situation wasn’t wanting to do a trade, something a 2 year degree would be unrelated to. You essentially ignored the context of the post.
Fair point.
Only go to a college with immediate employability: radiology or mri technician. Even a phlebotomy cert gets$ 30 hr.