You’ve just finished four grueling years of undergraduate work. Congratulations! But now what? You’ve definitely decided that you want to pursue graduate studies, but you’re not quite ready to do that this September. As your friends begin another school year, you feel a little left out as you realize that you have just entered the beginning of what I call your gap year.
A gap year—or years, in some cases—is not unheard of. In fact, from what I’ve observed, more and more young singers are opting for this gap year between degrees. The reasons for taking time off vary, from solidifying technique to working to pay off student loans. Whatever your reason, the most important thing is to determine what you want to gain during your gap year.
Here are some suggestions of how to best lay out your gap year for the best use of your time and money.
Be Aware of Your New Reality
Most college students look forward to graduation day but, for some, independence that will soon be forcibly thrown onto their shoulders can seem daunting. Being on your own for the first time right out of college can be both an exciting and frightful experience. Important questions loom, like where will I be living? What will I do to support myself? When are my student loans going into repayment? How will my time and budget change?
Upon graduation, I moved 3,000 miles across the country to be closer to New York City and started my first full-time job. This brought about a huge amount of change. In addition to a new environment, job, and climate, I was also no longer covered under my parents’ family health insurance. With many health insurance plans, if you are over the age of 18 and not a full-time student, you are not eligible for coverage. With the passing of the Obama health care bill last spring, however, this has changed. Many companies are now extending insurance coverage to adult children until age 26, even if you are not a student. Researching your options and finding out what is available is all part of this new, non-student life.
Once you’ve evaluated your new situation, the work begins.
Set Your Goals
Why do you need this gap year and what do you hope to accomplish to better prepare you for graduate school? Answering this question will lay the foundation for a plan of action. Remember that your teacher, coach, and other mentors are there to help you. Pepper them with questions and have them help you to define goals that will be feasible for you within the next year. If you are taking time off to solidify your technique, for instance, then maintaining voice lessons and daily practice as well as honestly assessing whether your current voice teacher is the best person to help you achieve your goals for your gap year would be critical first steps. If your goal is to pay down student loans, finding a job with a good source of income and creating a budget would be in short order.
Whatever your goals, make sure that you commit yourself to them. Write them down and post them where you can be reminded of them daily.
Keeping Up with the Basics
For the last four or more years during your undergraduate studies, you have had a structured schedule of courses, homework, and study time. Now that the structure is gone, it’s up to you to continue your education. Keeping up with voice lessons and coachings, finding performance opportunities, and continuing your general music education are critical for musical growth during your gap year.
Establishing a routine for weekly voice lessons, coachings, and regular practice rests entirely on your shoulders. Time is money, so make sure you are making the most of your voice lessons and coachings. Preparing adequately each week through daily practice will make a huge difference in the efficacy of your lessons. Record your lessons and practice sessions and note your progress. Continue to build your repertoire, including repertoire needed for graduate auditions.
Performing as much and as regularly as possible is a singer’s necessity, especially between degrees. Take the initiative to go out of your way to perform as much as possible, being persistent in looking for singing opportunities anywhere you can. Performances can include anything from a small, local production to singing as a church cantor or section leader.
Finding performance venues can be a bit tricky, especially if you are new in town. When I first moved, one of my greatest challenges was establishing a new network of professionals. At home, finding performance opportunities was easy simply by word of mouth. In my new situation, however, I had to learn to be more aggressive and search for opportunities on my own. I learned to use what was free and readily available—such as local newspapers, Facebook, MySpace, flyers in music schools, local societies, or church bulletins—to both advertise and search for opportunities.
Although you may feel your undergraduate years were rigorous enough to ingrain styles and languages in your head for eternity, it’s important to keep these skills fresh and build on what you already know. Use your free time to peruse free online encyclopedias, join the local Italian club, work on sight-singing, or simply turn on a free Internet radio station like Pandora and listen to a random opera playlist. Your education shouldn’t stop just because your college enrollment did.
What’s Worth Paying For
Watching your finances when you’re experiencing your first taste of independence can be a tedious and sometimes painful task. Prioritize your spending and put your vocal needs before other less necessary expenses. Expenses like a roof over your head and food on your table should come first. But not far behind, and before you splurge on anything else, you had better budget for the expertise of a good teacher and coach. These professionals can be costly, but when you find good ones, they are worth their weight in gold.
If you’re planning on doing competitions and summer programs, you will need to budget for that as well. Begin by compiling a list and then ask your teacher and coach for their honest opinions. They can help you determine which programs are right for you, saving you application fees and travel expenses for the wrong opportunities.
Making a Buck during the Gap Year
Before you can implement a budget, however, you need to be making some income. By using the skills you already have, you are more than equipped to find a job that will pay the bills.
Look for jobs that will use your music—as a church singer or teacher, for example. Being a church singer keeps you performing weekly, improves sight-reading, and guarantees you a good weekly paycheck for a much lesser time commitment. You can also hang up your shingle as a teacher and begin offering private voice lessons.
If you need to look outside of music to find a job, recognize that you are a valuable commodity. Singers are intelligent people with many unique skills developed over years of specialized work. We’ve been trained in languages, music theory, self-discipline, and many other desirable workforce qualities. When I first moved, I worked as a receptionist in an animal hospital and was making a decent amount of money. It had absolutely no relevance to music, but I knew that I was more than capable to answer phones and ensure quality customer service.
The downside of a full-time job, though, is that while it may be financially necessary, it might not leave you much time for anything else. I had to make the difficult decision to quit my job because I didn’t realize when I accepted the position that it would take up so much time, and it was diverting my focus from my gap year goal. In such a case, a part-time job is often a better fit. By being aware of what is possible for you physically, vocally, and financially, you’ll be able to direct yourself to a job that will pay the bills and keep you on your musical toes.
Patience Is a Virtue
Leaving the comfort zone of school can be a drastic change. Establishing a structured pattern early will keep you from falling into the trap of wasting time. Keep looking to your goals every few weeks and evaluating honestly the progress you’re making. Most importantly, use your gap year to continue to learn, to reach for your artistic ambitions, and to fall as deeply in love with music as you can.
