Music Technology is a popular subject at college and university. But how do you know whether you are choosing the RIGHT course for your child?

Even in late teenage, children need parental help in choosing the right course to secure their future employment prospects.

It is never a good idea to try and force your child to take a course in which they are not interested. They will either do badly or drop out. The consequences are totally negative.

So if your child has expressed a preference for Music Technology, you should ensure that they choose the course that will benefit them most.

There are two problems with colleges and universities that run Music Technology courses...

Firstly, the reason why they run such courses is that they know they are popular. People don't want to study math, physics, chemistry and English literature any more - they want a 'sexy' subject. Or at least what they consider to be exciting.

So colleges and universities offer Music Technology courses to fulfill that demand.

Secondly, not all colleges and universities are staffed by people who really understand the industry. There is no 'music technology' industry as such. Ideally however, colleges and universities offering Music Technology as a subject would be staffed by people who had worked in recording studios, broadcasting, live sound, theater sound, perhaps film sound too.

The problem however is that people who work in these industries at a high level are generally better paid than teachers and lecturers. So why would they move into education?

Some do however. In the industries mentioned, it is common to work either very long hours, or to work shifts including night work. Some people therefore will move to education to achieve a better life/work balance.

This is good, as long as they maintain contact with industry to keep their knowledge relevant and skills up to date.

So these two factors are very important. Does the college or university have a commitment, or are they offering Music Technology as a fix for their finances? Do they have ex-industry staff - not people who couldn't find success in the industry but the ones who have moved over to education for a good solid reason?

Also it is relevant to enquire how long a college or university has been offering Music Technology courses. Some are very well established and well respected. If you were an ex-industry lecturer, that's the kind of place you would want to work, rather than in some upstart college just doing it for the money.

Remember, this is an important decision. Get it right and your son or daughter could have a firm foundation for their future career. Get it wrong, and it could mean years of wasted time at this important stage of life.