Music Technology year 4?

redeemhere

i have recently completed the the music technology course in LIT. i passed and have the option to to do the fourth year to further my qualification. i am still unsure if i want to take on the fourth year. i enjoyed the course but was getting a bit fed up towards the last year. can anyone shed some light on what to expect in the fourth year or are there better options out there. i have considered the following:

taking a year out and look for work experience paid or unpaid (more than likely unpaid)
looking at other add on courses in Ireland
looking at add on courses in the UK
taking the fourth year in LIT

reccomendations would be much appreciated

RoyalMarine

IF this were me,

taking a year out and look for work experience paid or unpaid (more than likely unpaid)
** i would take a while to find something decent, and the experience would stand, but i would be fed up at the end of it**
looking at other add on courses in Ireland
**i dont think it would be a good idea as why not just finish the course your doing, and be done with it. think about it, if you do another add on course in ireland, then when your done, you still have to go back and finish 4th year in the course your in. unless you decided not to..
looking at add on courses in the UK
not a bad idea. change of scenery would do you the world of good after being in college for 3 years.
taking the fourth year in LIT
if you get the course finished, then its over. you have your honour's degree and the rest of your life begins!

why dont you concider taking the year out and going abroad for a while? get out and see what you can do when you do finish the 4th year. it might be a lot better than sitting in ireland, and regretting what ever decision you make. asia is very cheap, and with a degree already, you would find work teaching pretty quick. i went with no degree and landed a job in thailand for a year paying a good €300 a week. my rent over there was dirt cheap and i lived very well.
eventually came home to go to college, and it was the best idea i ever had.

anyway, no matter what you decide, just make sure you wont regret it after a while. because you will only have to wait longer and longer to make up for lost time!

NyquistFreak

Heyo!
This is kinda weird posting here, cos you're clearly in my class... you know you don't have to go straight into fourth year to progress right? I mean you can feck off for a few years and let them settle the course a wee bit and re-apply anytime you want as long as you're eligible (as in passed your finals and got your 50% gpa). You'll still be as eligible this tme next year ortwo or three years down the line as you are right now like. That's straight from Daithi Sims by the way

Getting yourself some experience would actually be great especially if you're feeling a bit fed up with it all like, but I wouldn't really consider taking the year out just for that like unless you were very sure it would keep you going... Out of interest, what experience have you gained for yourself over the summer holidays or whatever for the last three years? Some people in the class have been up to loads like, some have done nothing, but I have to say when I was sick to sheet of it all, doing the extra bit over the summer really gave me back the grá for it like!

Volunteering for stage tech work at festivals is a great way to get the foot in the door and fill up the CV, make a few contacts yada yada, and the summer is the time for sorting yourself out that way, but honestly if you've not begun that much already you're probably at nothing looking for something to come your way in the off season...especially if you're looking to get paid for it! It depends on where in the country you're based as well I suppose, for what kind of opportunities are realistically likely to present themselves for ya.

If you find something suitable to occupy your year experience wise I'd definitely say go for it, but it'd be fair lousy if you find yourself with nothing to do but be on the dole/workin in a shop or something come November is all I'm saying, been in that situation once before myself and it sucked, especially since I was still good friends with people still in the class and seeing how they were getting on, you feel awful left behind like, not nice!

Also, after a year or more out would you really be able to go back and finish off a stressful year, I mean you know yourself how stressful 3rd year was, 4th is going to be more the same I imagine, but with the added bonus of their not being able to take away the level 7 on us this time! Honestly, its not the biggest of deals to leave and then return to education later, the break away might help put things into perspective a bit for you On the other side to that, would continuing straight on without taking a break back to reality/ bit of experience for to help the enthusiasm, be good for you personally either? Only you can answer that one for yourself like, but I suppose the only thing going for keeping on with it is that at least you know the class this year and we can be a bit of support to one another in that way, if you leave it off a while its going to be you and a group of strangers going through the same motions...

As far as other alternative add-ons go...what exactly would you be looking for? I was half thinking of doing the V&S add on instead altogether just to get a broader range of subjects under me belt (except I'm actually really really looking forward to the studio practice class and all its psychoacoustics and music and the mind stuff!) but outside of that I'm not sure too many other degrees would be relevant to what you've learned already? There's always the option of Masters in any area of your choosing after fourth year (I'm thinking of Music Therapy in Belfast somewhere down the line) but why would you compromise your chances of getting a good level 8 (undergrad degree topics are largely irrelevant when it comes to choosing Masters by the looks as long as you do well in the results) in something you already have a good foundation in for the sake of flitting over and trying to do the toughest year of something you're not properly prepared for? Also you know LIT and LIT knows you, this cannot be a bad thing if the sh*t hits the fan? UL don't offer the add on as theirs is a straight 4year degree, Maynooth is only a couple of subjects in an Arts Degree (the BSc is worth more) aside from that and random Media courses, I don't know of many places doing anything similar to our course like, so you'd be behind from the word go. Something to think about I suppose.

Something else to consider actually... I've been rabbitin on about the possibility of setting up an alumni co-op studio the year after we finish purely for the sake of us all building up our experience levels after the fourth year...that was one of my main grumbles coming to the end of third year like: what's realistically out there for us? I'm not entirely adverse to starting that this year instead if it's feasible, if you really really want to do the experience thing...would prefer it to be next year like, but half thinkin of trying to use the administration end of it as my fyp next year and have a few outside bodies running the actual practicality of it all while I'm stuck in lecturers...I may have spoken to you about this already but to be honest, I cant guess from the post or username which one you are...

Either way, I think its important you find what attracted you to the field in the first place again, and also look at the reasons why you were getting fed up with it at the end. Was it the workload? Was it a lack of interest? Was it the thought of poor employment prospects afterwards, or the "jack of all trades master of none" thing another poster mentioned in another thread on this course? Or something else? I know it was some fair heavy going by the end, but if you look at that as a means to an end its easier to swallow
I really really wish you all the best, hopefully see you in September, but if not good luck with it all Also, don't forget you only have til the 20th of July to make your mind up, that's like five days from now!!

NyquistFreak

By the way Redeemhere, since posting the last one I've just stalked you and found out who you are, and definitely think you should come back for fourth year! If that helps at all :P