The cost of drum corps;-)

[MDempsey]

With this post I may become the absolute bad guy of DCA. BUt I hafta ask.(hey..my PHD is in economics;-)

I didnt choose to do the "alumni thing" (woulda been St Joes;-)and I stopped marching at age 23 and headed to academia and a paycheck.

But had I actually done it(woulda been CRU..and maybe CABs...I figure it would have cost me 2.1 million(honest,,,I did figure it out!)

Anyone actually figure out what drum corps has cost you in career advancement, OT and gross income???..NOT a flame...just wondering.

[J.C.]

Anyone actually figure out what drum corps has cost you in career advancement, OT and gross income???..NOT a flame...just wondering.

Zero.

John Caspers

Software Engineering Manager

Electronic Power Components Business

Rockwell Automation

[FrontierEuph]

With this post I may become the absolute bad guy of DCA. BUt I hafta ask.(hey..my PHD is in economics;-)

I didnt choose to do the "alumni thing" (woulda been St Joes;-)and I stopped marching at age 23 and headed to academia and a paycheck.

But had I actually done it(woulda been CRU..and maybe CABs...I figure it would have cost me 2.1 million(honest,,,I did figure it out!)

Anyone actually figure out what drum corps has cost you in career advancement, OT and gross income???..NOT a flame...just wondering.

So far, I've delayed my retirement by about 10 years. Software engineer here.

Expensive, but worth it. I was going to start a drum corps "when I retired" anyway.

Edited October 1, 2007 by FrontierEuph

[grenadasmoothie]

Eh, probably a few hundred K in delayed advancement, then there's the gas, hotels, and food over my 7 years in DCA corps, so another $30K to $40K. Oh, and of course, about 30% of the use of one of my knees :P .

But, like I'm sure everybody here would say - IT WAS WORTH MANY TIMES THAT !

[donincardona]

for different reasons it didn't cost me a thing. i actually made money.

[brigmello94]

Anyone actually figure out what drum corps has cost you in career advancement, OT and gross income???..NOT a flame...just wondering.

Uh...actually, I continued to march when I was working on my Master's degree (which significantly increased my income). It was a tough 3.5 years between work, school & corps, but I'm so glad I continued to march. It was great to be able to focus on something other than thesis research for a little while each week & I met a lot of really nice people. (Added bonus: 3 championship medals)

[Pit_Girl_77]

A few thousand dollars in travel/dues, but I also met folks that got me the hook-up for my current job, which gave me a few thousand dollars a year more then I was getting, so it all washes out in the end.

[Shadow_7]

How are we supposed to calculate the costs? % of vehicle life used for drumcorps times the cost of that vehicle, plus gas for mileagle? Hours invested times minimum wage, with time and a half for hours > 8 in a single 24 hour period? Loss of job? Change to an underemployed job to facilitate a drumcorps schedule. Less the costs of a gym, shrink, and physical therapy had I not done drumcorps? Just curious.

[Sayre Kulp]

Several thousand. But I wouldn't call it money lost.

Wouldn't trade a penny.

[JKatzmellophone]

With this post I may become the absolute bad guy of DCA. BUt I hafta ask.(hey..my PHD is in economics;-)

I didnt choose to do the "alumni thing" (woulda been St Joes;-)and I stopped marching at age 23 and headed to academia and a paycheck.

But had I actually done it(woulda been CRU..and maybe CABs...I figure it would have cost me 2.1 million(honest,,,I did figure it out!)

Anyone actually figure out what drum corps has cost you in career advancement, OT and gross income???..NOT a flame...just wondering.

I don't know. I have spent 10's of thousands in my 30 plus years. Anything worth sacrificing this much time, blood, sweat and tears, comes at a cost. But what I gained from it is far more valuable than anything else.

Most jobs that I have had including my present career, now going on 11 years, I would not have if not for Drum Corps.

Met my wife in Drum Corps.

My entire family and ALL my friends Including many I work with are in or have been in Drum Corps.

Made several thousand dollars over 15 years of teching marching bands for band directors I know from corps.

Drum Corps has given me my life. Some may say thats sad, but I'm very happy with my life. I doubt I would be this content if I worried about what I may have lost. What I have gained is priceless.