Students often want to follow their dreams and get their diplomas at the same time. Young people have their own ambitions and unique ideas. They are sure that the world will open up to their every dream. Of course, when you have enough determination, everything becomes possible! Just don’t forget that you still need to graduate and get your degree.
A music career is something that is very appealing to a lot of learners. Most young people start noticing their talents in college, especially when they have a lot of friends and peers who support them. Every student has thought about creating a band at least once during their college years! After all, there are plenty of successful bands who started out when they were young.
Going to school doesn’t mean that you need to put your dreams on hold. You just need to find this delicate balance of combining your studies and your career! For example, you can always hire a person to write my essay for me and spend your free time working on your career. This way, your grades won’t take a hit, and you will still graduate on schedule!
So, are you ready to be the next rock star of the century, or at least make some money on the stage? Here are 7 tips to balance a music career with your studies!
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Have you ever heard about a musician without a producer or a student without a tutor? Even when nobody understands your professional and educational goals, you don’t have to go through this journey by yourself! There might be some friends who can help you out with managing your time effectively. Or, your bandmates might want to divide the responsibilities equally.
For example, you are not the only person in your band who is a student or who has another full-time job. You can create a band agreement, where you clearly define your roles and the ways you can help each other out. When students have a spare period, they can reach out to venues. Another bandmate can print posters during their lunch break. It’s really a team effort!
Define your career and educational goals
Lots of people can commit to something when they don’t know why exactly they are spending their time and effort on this task. Following your passion is hard enough, but it’s even harder when you have to combine it with getting your degree. In this case, it’s very easy to lose sight of what matters to you and turn your music career into a routine.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself in order to help set your professional and educational goals:
- What is your final goal in your career?
- Do you want to become famous, or just do what you like?
- How much money do you want to have from your music career?
- How much money can you spare on it right now?
- What are the classes where you need to work on your grades more?
- What do you see yourself achieving in a couple of years?
- Does your degree enhance your music career in any way?
Spend your music income only on your career
This is good advice for those learners who have some spare money. Of course, this wouldn’t work in case you don’t have extra cash or a part-time job. Still, from the point of view of finance management, it’s better to divide your spendings. For example, you can set up a separate account for your band. It might also help to divide this account with other bandmates.
Don’t forget about your social media presence
You won’t get too far in any career if you underrate the power of social media. Most people don’t even need to hire a social media manager at first. You can find a guide for almost anything online and apply it to your social media management skills. For instance, look up some of the advertising strategies, how to interact with clients, and how to build your brand.
This is a free promoting tool that can help you boost your brand recognition! For example, you can upload your gigs and new song announcements online, order targeted advertisements, and attract new followers. You can also do live streams of your rehearsals or provide interesting tips or even music lessons. Just follow the trends and the followers will come!
Create a schedule that will divide your time effectively
Similar to finances, your time is very limited when it comes to doing several things at the same time. Going to school is already a full-time job that requires a lot of your attention. So, it’s highly recommended to create a schedule, where you can track all your classes, extracurricular activities, gigs, and rehearsals. Here are some apps that can help you with this task:
- Calendy;
- ClickUp;
- Pricing;
- Todoist;
- Zoho Bookings;
- SimplyBook.me;
- Doodle.
Surround yourself with other people who are passionate about music
You can agree that everybody needs a person who understands what they are going through. For example, for your classes, you can always have a study group and regular brainstorming sessions. The same principles apply to your hobbies and possible career. Sure, your bandmates share the same interest in music, but are they really passionate?
You can find similar-minded people on the internet, at your school, or at some of the venues. You should never decline an interesting acquaintance when you are building your career. Who knows how your life turns out? Maybe, by surrounding yourself with passionate people, you will feel more encouraged to pursue your ideas and vision for the future.
Follow your dreams!
This is such simple advice, and yet, it’s very effective. It’s very easy to burn out when you try to balance your career and your studies. Just remember that you are following your dreams and doing what you love! And with some of the tips on this list, you might actually achieve great success in your field.
Takeaway
So there you have it, 7 tips to balance a music career with your studies! Don’t get discouraged if you don’t achieve success immediately. Think about it this way: right now, you are getting an education and building a foundation for your future. You can start working on your passion full-time after graduation, and now you are doing everything in your power to find a balance!
Online Threat Alerts Security Tips
Pay the safest way
Credit cards are the safest way to pay for online purchases because you can dispute the charges if you never get the goods or services or if the offer was misrepresented. Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone makes unauthorized charges to your account, and most credit card issuers will remove them completely if you report the problem promptly.
Guard your personal information
In any transaction you conduct, make sure to check with your state or local consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if the seller, charity, company, or organization is credible. Be especially wary if the entity is unfamiliar to you. Always call the number found on a website’s contact information to make sure the number legitimately belongs to the entity you are dealing with.
Be careful of the information you share
Never give out your codes, passwords or personal information, unless you are sure of who you're dealing with
Know who you’re dealing with
Crooks pretending to be from companies you do business with may call or send an email, claiming they need to verify your personal information. Don’t provide your credit card or bank account number unless you are actually paying for something and know who you are sending payment to. Your social security number should not be necessary unless you are applying for credit. Be especially suspicious if someone claiming to be from a company with whom you have an account asks for information that the business already has.
Check your accounts
Regularly check your account transactions and report any suspicious or unauthorised transactions.
Don’t believe promises of easy money
If someone claims that you can earn money with little or no work, get a loan or credit card even if you have bad credit, or make money on an investment with little or no risk, it’s probably a scam. Oftentimes, offers that seem too good to be true, actually are too good to be true.
Do not open email from people you don’t know
If you are unsure whether an email you received is legitimate, try contacting the sender directly via other means. Do not click on any links in an email unless you are sure it is safe.
Think before you click
If an email or text message looks suspicious, don’t open any attachments or click on the links.
Verify urgent requests or unsolicited emails, messages or phone calls before you respond
If you receive a message or a phone call asking for immediate action and don't know the sender, it could be a phishing message.
Be careful with links and new website addresses
Malicious website addresses may appear almost identical to legitimate sites. Scammers often use a slight variation in spelling or logo to lure you. Malicious links can also come from friends whose email has unknowingly been compromised, so be careful.
Secure your personal information
Before providing any personal information, such as your date of birth, Social Security number, account numbers, and passwords, be sure the website is secure.
Stay informed on the latest cyber threats
Keep yourself up to date on current scams by visiting this website daily.
Use Strong Passwords
Strong passwords are critical to online security.
Keep your software up to date and maintain preventative software programs
Keep all of your software applications up to date on your computers and mobile devices. Install software that provides antivirus, firewall, and email filter services.
Update the operating systems on your electronic devices
Make sure your operating systems (OSs) and applications are up to date on all of your electronic devices. Older and unpatched versions of OSs and software are the target of many hacks. Read the CISA security tip on Understanding Patches and Software Updates for more information.
What if You Got Scammed?
Stop Contact With The Scammer
Hang up the phone. Do not reply to emails, messages, or letters that the scammer sends. Do not make any more payments to the scammer. Beware of additional scammers who may contact you claiming they can help you get your lost money back.
Secure Your Finances
- Report potentially compromised bank account, credit or debit card information to your financial institution(s) immediately. They may be able to cancel or reverse fraudulent transactions.
- Notify the three major credit bureaus. They can add a fraud alert to warn potential credit grantors that you may be a victim of identity theft. You may also want to consider placing a free security freeze on your credit report. Doing so prevents lenders and others from accessing your credit report entirely, which will prevent them from extending credit:
- Equifax
- Experian
- TransUnion
Check Your Computer
If your computer was accessed or otherwise affected by a scam, check to make sure that your anti-virus is up-to-date and running and that your system is free of malware and keylogging software. You may also need to seek the help of a computer repair company. Consider utilizing the Better Business Bureau’s website to find a reputable company.
Change Your Account Passwords
Update your bank, credit card, social media, and email account passwords to try to limit further unauthorized access. Make sure to choose strong passwords when changing account passwords.
Report The Scam
Reporting helps protect others. While agencies can’t always track down perpetrators of crimes against scammers, they can utilize the information gathered to record patterns of abuse which may lead to action being taken against a company or industry.
Report your issue to the following agencies based on the nature of the scam:
- Local Law Enforcement: Consumers are encouraged to report scams to their local police department or sheriff’s office, especially if you lost money or property or had your identity compromised.
- Federal Trade Commission: Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or use the Online Complaint Assistant to report various types of fraud, including counterfeit checks, lottery or sweepstakes scams, and more.
- Identitytheft.gov: If someone is using your personal information, like your Social Security, credit card, or bank account number, to open new accounts, make purchases, or get a tax refund, report it at www.identitytheft.gov. This federal government site will also help you create your Identity Theft Report and a personal recovery plan based on your situation. Questions can be directed to 877-ID THEFT.
How To Recognize a Phishing Scam
Scammers use email or text messages to try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If they get that information, they could get access to your email, bank, or other accounts. Or they could sell your information to other scammers. Scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks like these every day — and they’re often successful.
Scammers often update their tactics to keep up with the latest news or trends, but here are some common tactics used in phishing emails or text messages:
Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. You might get an unexpected email or text message that looks like it’s from a company you know or trust, like a bank or a credit card or utility company. Or maybe it’s from an online payment website or app. The message could be from a scammer, who might
- say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts — they haven’t
- claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information — there isn’t
- say you need to confirm some personal or financial information — you don’t
- include an invoice you don’t recognize — it’s fake
- want you to click on a link to make a payment — but the link has malware
- say you’re eligible to register for a government refund — it’s a scam
- offer a coupon for free stuff — it’s not real
About Online Threat Alerts (OTA)
Online Threat Alerts or OTA is an anti-cybercrime community that started in 2012. OTA alerts the public to cyber crimes and other web threats.
By alerting the public, we have prevented a lot of online users from getting scammed or becoming victims of cybercrimes.
With the ever-increasing number of people going online, it important to have a community like OTA that continuously alerts or protects those same people from cyber-criminals, scammers and hackers, who are every day finding new ways of carrying out their malicious activities.
Online users can help by reporting suspicious or malicious messages or websites to OTA. And, if they want to determine if a message or website is a threat or scam, they can use OTA's search engine to search for the website or parts of the message for information.
Help maintain Online Threat Alerts (OTA).