drumcorpsdrummerman2012 Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 (edited) So do instructors get paid? Or are most of them volunteers? There are some corps who have "interns" that do volunteer but the vast majority of instructors are paid.........."SOMETHING". However, I think the majority of money is made on the design end with a little less for captions heads and considerably less for techs (unless you are on BD's staff...which is generally better than most as I understand). The reality is, the amount of money you make as an instructor for a corps is very little. As a tech, if you are lucky, your yearly "salary" might add up to about $2 an hour if you consider the amount of hours you put into the activity, not only during the summer but during the off season as well. It really doesn't amount to much. And that doesn't take into account what you might have to cover in expenses. The reality is, you will probably lose more money than you will make. Truthfully, people make more money working with high school programs than with drum corps. A lot more, actually. I don't mean on the "director" level, either. I'm talking as a tech, caption head or designer for a top caliber high school band. The amount of money you make with a high school program makes what you make as a drum corps instructor almost an embarrassment. It's a nice hobby and a worthwhile contribution to an awesome educational activity. But drum corps is not something you should ever consider "a job" (even within the term of "part time"). In short: Don't quit your day job. If you like to teach and want to make some money with it, either instruct a high school or two as a SIDE JOB or better yet...if you are serious about making it a full time carreer, get a teaching degree and become a band director. Otherwise, enjoy teaching drum corps as a great hobby that you will not make much money at (and maybe lose money). I'm sorry if that was not the answer you wanted to hear. Edited September 24, 2012 by drumcorpsdrummerman2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Freedman Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 What amazes me is hearing about staff relocate to work with a different drum corps. How are they able to do that without the wherewithal to support themselves (and any family they may have)? I suppose behind the scenes some are actually getting a job with a nearby school as well, to pay for the drum corps habit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsdrummerman2012 Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 What amazes me is hearing about staff relocate to work with a different drum corps. How are they able to do that without the wherewithal to support themselves (and any family they may have)? I suppose behind the scenes some are actually getting a job with a nearby school as well, to pay for the drum corps habit. Oh, I know. It's insane. You also hear about people quitting great jobs for the sake of that "once in a lifetime offer to teach ______________ drum corps". And thus....divorce happens etc etc etc...it's crazy. BD seems to be the only exception. Go figure... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ch1k3n Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 Thanks for all the great responses! So I am probably not going to be a good high school band teacher, I just don't think that's what I'm meant to do. But how well would working with drum corps while having a full time job go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcat Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Hello! So I have been thinking about what I want to do for my career when I grow up, and since I love Drum Corps, it would only be natural for me to want to have a full time job working with corps. I would love to do some sort of instruction, I really would like visual and maybe help out with music, but I don't really know if this would be a realistic job opportunity, as I'm sure most of the instructors are volunteers. I would love to work on a personal level with a corps, and was just wondering what type of schooling I would need so that I could have to chance to. Thanks! Hi Ch1k3n, Let me answer you with some insider info. :) I make my living by working with DCI. I don't hang out with kids. I used to instruct at the high school and college level, and I even judged WGI at the circuit level for a while. Once I started drawing a paycheck, you have to have the understanding that your work affects the kids indirectly. Others have mentioned that the seasonal nature of the job means you can't get a full-time gig instructing. Mostly, that's true. Even the best instructors make a good portion of their salaries in academic environments. There are three approaches, as there is in all entertainment. There's Administration, which is removed. There's instruction, which is a high-demand, low-pay gig that must be supplemented. Or there's volunteering, which is often the most rewarding, but doesn't pay. My best advice is to do what you're really good at, and apply that where you can at the drum corps level. Don't try to be something you don't like just to be involved in a different way; it's a quick way to financial ruin. Be yourself, be involved, and make yourself valuable. It'll "pay off", in some way. I was involved as a performer, admin, and volunteer for 16 years before someone paid me, and like I said, it is for what I know from outside the activity that is why I'm paid, not for being a "drum corps dude". Good luck, and let me strongly suggest the DCI intern program so you can get an inside view first. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcat Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Thanks for all the great responses! So I am probably not going to be a good high school band teacher, I just don't think that's what I'm meant to do. But how well would working with drum corps while having a full time job go? The answer depends. If you're talking about instructional staff, you have to have summers off, or be willing to devote a lot of vacation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccerguy315 Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Thanks for all the great responses! So I am probably not going to be a good high school band teacher, I just don't think that's what I'm meant to do. But how well would working with drum corps while having a full time job go? how much vacation time is your job going to give you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsdrummerman2012 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 But how well would working with drum corps while having a full time job go? Depends on several things. If you are doing 75% to a full summer's worth of touring, it depends on how patient your employer is. In most cases, if you are working in the corporate structure, you are in the real world and I'm afraid most employers won't be very patient with you being gone for three months unless you are a super employee with serious tenure. Which is why, as others have eluded to, most drum corps instructors who do full tours are either band directors or self employed high school instructors or designers who's summer schedules allow for it. The other option is to instruct part time/consult. This actually can be done along side most types of full time jobs if scheduled strategically and if your avaliability meets the needs of the staff coordinator. This is probably the most promising option. These types of roles are becoming more and more in demand in this day of the activity. Long gone are the days where all instructors do 100% of the tour. Most of the primary staff do about 70% of the tour(ish) and that generally means that at times, they need people who can fill in for a week or two during the summer and cover some gaps. This is probably one of the more fun ways to do it because you don't have a lot of the big responsibilities that the primary staff have so you essentially get to "play with the toy" and then go back home to real life for most of the rest of your summer. It's definitely a tough activity to juggle with real life and something that needs to be thought through before just jumping into it. As I've said before, I've seen full time jobs crumble and families fall apart because of people taking on a drum corps instructor role irresponsibly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dining Diva Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I happen to work with an open- yes, open class drum corps where I am the food/volunteer coordinator. I have made it my full time job by branching out into catering and also feeding all our other ensembles, as well. I can tell you that our staff (including instructional) get paid, including myself. This, however (unfortunately), is NOT the norm, and no one gets rich doing drum corps alome. But, due to much creativity & drive, I'm able to "live the dream" year-round. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dining Diva Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 And yes...I do a full tour every summer...next summer will be my 11th year. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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