Arts, design, media and sports
Musicians and singers
Play one or more musical instruments or sing. May perform on stage, for broadcasting, or for sound or video recording.
Median pay
$99,424
hourly × 2,080
Growth to 2035
0%
little or no change
Openings a year
17,400
Time to qualify*
12 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Musicians and singers: BLS publishes hourly pay only for this job.
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Musicians and singers: 11% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Perform before live audiences in concerts, recitals, educational presentations, and other social gatherings.
- Practice performances, individually or in rehearsal with other musicians, to master individual pieces of music or to maintain and improve skills.
- Specialize in playing a specific family of instruments or a particular type of music.
- Play musical instruments as soloists, or as members or guest artists of musical groups such as orchestras, ensembles, or bands.
- Provide the musical background for live shows, such as ballets, operas, musical theatre, and cabarets.
- Play from memory or by following scores.
- Sight-read musical parts during rehearsals.
- Seek out and learn new music suitable for live performance or recording.
Also called: Chorister · Drummer · Musician · Opera Singer · Orchestra Musician · Percussionist · Performer · Singer
Outlook and AI
Musicians and singers held 170,400 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 170,900 by 2035 (0%, little or no change; all jobs: +3.5%).
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