SOC 27-2042.00

    Musicians and Singers

    Play one or more musical instruments or sing.

    Median pay
    Not reported
    Growth
    +0.3%
    Little or no change
    Openings a year
    17,400
    Typical education
    No formal credential

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Not reported in the 2025 federal data

    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    36,180 people work in this occupation.

    What musicians and singers do

    Job Zone 4: Considerable preparation

    Play one or more musical instruments or sing. May perform on stage, for broadcasting, or for sound or video recording.

    Most need a bachelor's degree and several years of related experience.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    31 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    9 / 100
    Artistic (A) · strongest
    94 / 100
    Social (S)
    40 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    40 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    19 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code AES. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
    80
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    73
    Processing Information
    71
    Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
    71
    Thinking Creatively
    69
    Getting Information
    66
    Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People
    63
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    62
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    57
    Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
    54
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Speaking
    • Active Listening
    • Monitoring
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Social Perceptiveness
    • Coordination
    • Critical Thinking
    • Service Orientation
    • Time Management
    • Active Learning

    Knowledge

    • Fine Arts
    • Education and Training
    • English Language
    • Administration and Management
    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Communications and Media
    • Sociology and Anthropology
    • Computers and Electronics
    • Psychology
    • History and Archeology

    Abilities

    • Oral Comprehension
    • Oral Expression
    • Hearing Sensitivity
    • Auditory Attention
    • Memorization
    • Speech Clarity
    • Speech Recognition
    • Written Comprehension
    • Near Vision
    • Originality

    Work styles

    • Self-Confidence
    • Social Orientation
    • Innovation
    • Perseverance
    • Achievement Orientation
    • Optimism
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Initiative
    • Dependability
    • Adaptability

    Also called

    Accompanist · Bandperson · Bass Player · Bassoonist · Bugler · Bull Fiddle Player · Calliope Player · Cantor · Cellist · Choir Accompanist

    Career pathway

    From your interests to musicians and singers

    Interests that fit the work, the career, majors that lead there and colleges whose graduates in those majors earn the most. Hover or focus a step to follow one path.

    1. Interests

    2. This career

      • Musicians and SingersPay not reported

    3. Majors

    4. Colleges

    College Scorecard program outcomes

    Colleges with strong outcomes

    Programs that lead to this career, ranked by what their graduates earn four years after finishing. Earnings are for graduates who received federal aid.

    1. 1Sonoma State University logo
      Sonoma State University

      Rohnert Park, CA · Music · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $39,731
      4 yrs after
      $65,533
      Median debt
      Not reported
    2. 2University of Notre Dame-South Bend IN logo
      University of Notre Dame-South Bend IN

      Notre Dame, IN · Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $62,573
      4 yrs after
      $64,880
      Median debt
      $19,000
    3. 3Stevens Institute of Technology logo
      Stevens Institute of Technology

      Hoboken, NJ · Music · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $27,281
      4 yrs after
      $61,943
      Median debt
      $27,000
    4. 4University of Florida logo
      University of Florida

      Gainesville, FL · Music · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $56,011
      4 yrs after
      $61,446
      Median debt
      $13,725
    5. 5Northeastern University logo
      Northeastern University

      Boston, MA · Music · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $48,272
      4 yrs after
      $60,974
      Median debt
      $18,500
    6. 6
      The University of Texas at El Paso

      El Paso, TX · Music · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $59,229
      4 yrs after
      $60,172
      Median debt
      $17,334
    7. 7University of Redlands logo
      University of Redlands

      Redlands, CA · Music · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $59,275
      Median debt
      $23,322
    8. 8The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley logo
      The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

      Edinburg, TX · Music · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $54,156
      4 yrs after
      $59,218
      Median debt
      $13,956

    Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2025. Programs with few graduates are not listed.

    NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk

    Majors that lead here

    Related programs by four-digit CIP code. They are common routes in, not the only ones.

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What musicians and singers may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Training

    Programs of study that prepare people for this work.

    • Brass Instruments
    • Jazz/Jazz Studies
    • Keyboard Instruments
    • Music Pedagogy
    • Music Performance, General
    • Music, General
    • Music, Other
    • Musical Theatre
    • Percussion Instruments
    • Stringed Instruments
    • Voice and Opera
    • Woodwind Instruments

    Find training near you on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

    All careers

    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.