Introduction
I have a perception of an end goal (my dream, where I would like to be), but struggle to envision the journey to get there. (Damien, Bachelor of Music, 2019).
Conservatoires around the world are recognising that they have a responsibility to assist students in the transition from graduation into working life, which for the majority of musicians entails the process of building multiple income streams (Bartlett & Tolmie, Reference BARTLETT and TOLMIE2018; Creech et al., Reference CREECH, PAPAGEORGI and DUFFY2008; Tolmie & Nulty Reference TOLMIE, NULTY, Lebler, Carey and Harrison2015; Weller, Reference WELLER2013). In Australia, private higher education providers are carefully monitored by the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA) to ensure that graduates of their programs are transitioning successfully into work. A comprehensive survey of Australian universities and non-university higher education institutions reports on different areas of student experience, including transition into work after graduation (Australian Government Department of Education and Training, 2018). Many higher education providers count evidence of this as part of continued re-registration or re-accreditation.
While curricula is prescribed and controlled to ensure that students gain the skills required to be professional musicians, often students are not given explicit training in how to design and plan their creative career (Bennett, Reference BENNETT2007, Reference BENNETT2009; Tolmie, Reference TOLMIE and Carruthers2014, Reference TOLMIE2017; Weller, Reference WELLER2013). The problem remains that many students have chosen to attend conservatoires to learn specialised skills and knowledge that will assist them to improve as musicians, composers and instrumentalists. They acknowledge that life after graduation will be difficult to manage, yet are reluctant to “waste” precious practice or skills development time on planning for life after graduation (Latukefu & Ginsborg, Reference LATUKEFU and GINSBORG2018). Or, are so focussed on university life and the rigorous demands of curricula that planning is not prioritised. This article reports on an analysis of narratives provided by undergraduate and postgraduate students at a private higher education provider in Australia. The aims of the research were to understand a range of students’ experiences of what they hope for their creative careers to look like and how they design, plan and manage this process. Career indecision and self-efficacy in relation to career decision-making were also considered when exploring the narratives of students.
Career indecision
Successful transition out of tertiary education and into professional life is often a challenge for Music graduates. This is largely due to the highly variable nature of the creative career, which often requires individuals to design and build a mixture of freelance, contract and part-time roles both inside and outside of the arts to support their primary creative practice (Bowen & Kidd, Reference BOWEN and KIDD2017; Burns et al., Reference BURNS, MORRIS, ROUSSEAU and TAYLOR2013; Throsby & Petetskaya, Reference THROSBY and PETETSKAYA2017).
While tertiary education is a key point of career transition in which career decision-making is required, the process of career planning begins much earlier. Gottfredson’s theory of circumscription and compromise highlights four stages in which orientation to size and power (ages 3–5 years), gender roles (ages 6–8 years), social valuation (ages 9–23 years), and the unique matching of self to the world of work take place (age 14 years) (Gottfredson, Reference GOTTFREDSON1981). When considering the sources of career indecision for university graduates, a model developed by Brown and Rector (2008) provides some valuable insights into the variables which may contribute to career indecision. These include indecisiveness, lack of information, interpersonal conflicts and a lack of readiness (Brown & Rector, 2008). Another model uncovering the emotional and personality factors that influence career indecision is the three cluster model proposed by Saka, Gati, and Kelly (Reference SAKA, GATI and KELLY2008). The three primary factors they uncovered included pessimistic views and anxiety, self-concept and identity formation (Saka, Gati, and Kelly, Reference SAKA, GATI and KELLY2008).
Anxiety can be divided into two categories: state anxiety is viewed as experiencing anxiety in relation to a specific area or event, such as career decision-making; or trait anxiety which is experiencing anxiety in relation to a wide range of situations (Miller & Rottinghaus, Reference MILLER and ROTTINGHAUS2014; Vignoli, Reference VIGNOLI2015). High levels of either form of anxiety have been researched to play a substantial role in career indecision (Braunstein-Bercovitz et al., Reference BRAUNSTEIN-BERCOVITZ, BENJAMIN, ASOR and LEV2012; Brown & Rector, 2008; Saka, Gati, and Kelly, Reference SAKA, GATI and KELLY2008; Vignoli, Reference VIGNOLI2015). Generalised trait anxiety, which appears in relation to a range of decisions has been researched to have a greater negative impact on career indecision than state anxiety, which is isolated to a specific area (Braunstein-Bercovitz et al., Reference BRAUNSTEIN-BERCOVITZ, BENJAMIN, ASOR and LEV2012; Saka, Gati, and Kelly, Reference SAKA, GATI and KELLY2008; Vignoli, Reference VIGNOLI2015).
Much earlier studies in identity construct (Marcia, Reference MARCIA1966, Reference MARCIA and Adelson1980, Reference MARCIA, Lapsley and Power1988) characterised the effect of a close-minded approach in which there is no investigation of alternative opportunities, compared to a more open-minded approach, in which many different opportunities are considered before a decision is made. What is interesting is the balance to be found between the premature narrowing of career options as investigated by Marcia (Reference MARCIA1966, Reference MARCIA and Adelson1980, Reference MARCIA, Lapsley and Power1988) and the inability and anxiety that can be experienced as career indecision.
Self-efficacy in relation to career decision-making
Self-efficacy (Bandura et al., Reference BANDURA, BARBARANELLI, CAPRARA and Pastorelli1996) and commitment (Wagoner, Reference WAGONER2015) have been the focus of research into professional identity in music teacher education (Wagoner, Reference WAGONER2015). The concept of self-efficacy was first explored by Albert Bandura as part of social learning theory (Bandura, Reference BANDURA1977 ). A subset of this, career decision-making self-efficacy, is defined as the “confidence a person has in their capacity to carry out tasks associated with career exploration and selection” (Creed, Patton & Prideaux, Reference CREED, PATTON and PRIDEAUX2006, p.3). While Bandura (Reference BANDURA1977) initially focussed his research on the significance of performance accomplishment, verbal persuasion and emotional arousal, in this study, we extend the notion of self-efficacy by considering the effect of career indecision (Pollard, Reference POLLARD2017) on students who are transitioning from full-time student life into professional life, and how they conceive of making decisions in relation to their own creative career, in particular, what constitutes the make-up of their creative portfolio careers.
In exploring literature on career decision-making self-efficacy, evidence highlights that taking an active approach such as helping students to clarify their career goals, alongside other decision-making strategies can be beneficial in supporting students to make career decisions. Yet, few interventions have been broadly researched in relation to higher music education (Creed, Patton & Prideaux, Reference CREED, PATTON and PRIDEAUX2006). Career self-efficacy has also been shown to be positively impacted by parental support through the provision of encouragement, support and advice (Ferry, Fouad & Smith, Reference FERRY, FOUAD and SMITH2000), broader cultural and environmental factors (Mao, Hsu & Fang, Reference MAO, HSU and FANG2016) and by exercises and activities which increase social and emotional intelligence (Puffer, Reference PUFFER2011). A good example of this in music education is the scaffolding of orchestral skills development, where younger, less experienced students at conservatoire will rehearse and perform alongside their more experienced peers. This form of apprenticeship, for example, in an orchestra, big band or vocal ensemble, can help to reduce the emotional and physical stress in regard to performing, while at the same time giving students an example of what they can strive for, as they improve their technique and mature as musicians (Weller, Reference WELLER2013).
Context and methodology
In 2018, one of the authors led a major review of degrees in Performing Arts at a private higher education provider in Australia. Students, staff and alumni were consulted as part of the review. They determined that along with the capstone subjects that ensure course learning outcomes and their application to real-life situations, it was necessary to develop a stepping-stone subject designed to prepare students for life after graduation. One-to-one instrumental and vocal teaching is an important method of teaching in a Bachelor of Music, therefore, the authors trialled one-to-one career coaching combined with a career design workshop. Brown and Rector’s (2008) four source model formed the foundations for a range of career assessments including the Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ) (Saka, Gati & Kelly, Reference SAKA, GATI and KELLY2008) and the Career Indecision Profile-65 (CIP-65) (Xu & Tracey, Reference XU and TRACEY2017). These assessment tools have been researched cross-culturally and formed the basis of the career design workshops (Hacker et al., Reference HACKER, CARR, ABRAMS and BROWN2013).
Participants
Twenty-one music students took part in the workshop focussed on designing a creative career. Sixty percent were female and 40% male. Fifty-five percent were domestic students and 45% international and all of the participants had completed high school. Four of the international students had also completed undergraduate degrees in another discipline or had recently transferred from a different degree into a music degree. Fifteen of the 21 students were contemporary pop majors, three were jazz majors and three were classical majors. Six of the students were in their final year, 10 were in the second year of study and 5 were in the first year of their study.
After the completion of this workshop, invitations were sent to five final-year undergraduate students who attended the workshop. When one of the students declined to participate, the researchers invited a final year Master of Music female student to join the project and to experience the one-to-one coaching sessions. The student who declined the invitation to participate was female, and since we were interested in working with students who were completing their degrees and wanted to ensure we had males and females represented in the mix, we turned to a final year Master of Music student. The participants in the one-to-one coaching sessions included one female and four males. Two of the participants were international students, and one was a postgraduate student enrolled in the Master of Music. The two other participants were domestic students enrolled in the Bachelor of Music.
Procedure
This research involved two primary interventions. The first was a 3-h “Design My Creative Career” group workshop with 21 undergraduate music students hosted at the private higher education provider in September of 2019. The focus of this workshop was to explore how to design and build a creative career. The second intervention included two 1-h one-to-one career coaching sessions with five students. These sessions took place 1 month after the group workshop and were recorded for later transcription and analysis.
In advance of the first workshop, all music students were invited to participate. It was not mandatory and 21 students accepted the invitation and attended the workshop that was held during a semester break. Before attending, participants were asked to fill out an anonymous 10 question survey. This survey explored the career decision-making self-efficacy of students using questions from the Career Indecision Profile-65 (CIP-65). Students were asked how they were feeling about their creative career and what support they would see as valuable while they finish their tertiary studies (Xu & Tracey, Reference XU and TRACEY2017). Findings from this survey were used to inform the workshop in which the following themes were explored: my career foundations; growing my primary creative practice; sourcing meaningful and cost-effective art and non-arts related work; and finally, bringing it all together to create an action plan.
While the authors deliberately tried to stay as close as possible to the exact language of the original CDDQ and CIP questionnaires, it did need to be slightly adapted in order to reflect the context of higher education music students and the building of a portfolio career. For example, the word “Job” was replaced with “portfolio career”, as statistically this is a more likely outcome for arts graduates. The content of the career design workshop drew on a range of different frameworks to explore the concepts of building a creative portfolio career. This included skills and values identification tasks drawn from vocational psychology, career development literature and creative economy data relevant to the lives of professional artists in Australia (Throsby & Petetskaya, Reference THROSBY and PETETSKAYA2017). Each student created their own workbook, and by the end of the workshop, they had identified their key success experiences, core skills, values, arts-related and non-arts-related careers of interest and had each created their own action plan. This action plan included: three key takeaways from the workshop, three people to talk to and three actions to take immediately. At the end of the workshop, students completed a brief feedback form which explored their reflections from the workshop, their career self-efficacy and provided feedback on what could have improved the workshop for them (Xu & Tracey, Reference XU and TRACEY2017).
After the workshop, students in their final year of both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees were contacted separately and invited to participate in one-to-one career coaching sessions. These students were emailed an invitation to participate, and in the month after the group workshop, these coaching sessions were completed. A private room at the college was used in order to provide a safe space for the counselling sessions and a zoom recorder was used to record each of the sessions.
A brief solution-focussed counselling methodology was used as the philosophical and strategic framework for each of the coaching sessions (Iveson, Reference IVESON2002). Solution-focussed counselling is a brief goal-focussed counselling intervention, which based on social constructivist thinking, guides students through a set of precisely constructed questions, in order to explore a chosen decision or issue. This was chosen due to the brief nature of the intervention, as the clear focus on the present and future, without extensive history being taken could be effectively integrated into brief two sessions allocated per student (Iveson, Reference IVESON2002). Alongside this, a range of strategies from Cochran’s narrative career counselling approach and Savickas’s life design philosophy, which both consider the students as the decision-makers, narrative makers and solution-finders in their own lives (O’Connell Reference O’CONNELL2003).
Ethics
Ethical approval was granted by the college research ethics committee before invitations were sent to participants and data collected. All participants were provided with information about the project and gave their informed consent. The students participating in the initial workshop consented that the surveys and the workbooks could be collected, copied and analysed before they were returned to participants.
The participant information sheet made it clear that data would be kept confidential but that anonymity could not be guaranteed. In the vignettes, participants’ names were replaced with pseudonyms. The five students taking part in the one-to-one career coaching sessions gave permission for both researchers to access the recordings in order to transcribe, code and analyse. The first author is Head of School, so to ensure that students did not feel pressured to take part, the second author sent out invitations to participate, conducted interviews and ran the workshops. To ensure accuracy and give the participants an opportunity to remove anything they did not feel comfortable with, the vignettes were sent out for member checking.
Analysis
Narrative analysis research has been successfully utilised in music education research (Bresler, Reference BRESLER1995; Daykin, Reference DAYKIN2005; Latukefu & Ginsborg Reference LATUKEFU and GINSBORG2018; Strand Reference STRAND2009) to understand the experience of participants. The narratives are interpreted through a theoretical lens and transformed into a meaningful happening (Strand, Reference STRAND2009). To assist in the analysis and interpretation of the narratives, the authors reflected on theories from the literature on career indecision (Burns et al., Reference BURNS, MORRIS, ROUSSEAU and TAYLOR2013; Saka, Gati & Kelly, Reference SAKA, GATI and KELLY2008), identity theory (Holland & Lachiote, Reference HOLLAND, LACHICOTTE and Daniels2007; Marcia Reference MARCIA and Adelson1980, Reference MARCIA, Lapsley and Power1988; Schwartz, Reference SCHWARTZ2001), psychology of religion (Pargament et al., Reference PARGAMENT, KOENIG and PEREZ2000) and self-efficacy theory (Bandura et al., Reference BANDURA, BARBARANELLI, CAPRARA and Pastorelli1996). Collection and conception of data came from oral accounts such as the career counselling sessions.
The authors transcribed and analysed counselling sessions which were later made into vignettes. Additional Data was collected in text form from the worksheets and pre-workshop surveys completed by students from the workshop. This data were analysed and composed into vignettes of common experience (Churchman & King, Reference CHURCHMAN and KING2009; McAlpine, Reference MCALPINE2016). The worried student vignette emerged as a common theme from the initial survey that students completed before the workshop and the workbooks they completed during the workshop. The results of the thematic analysis of counselling sessions, surveys, workbooks and final reflections are presented as a series of narratives or vignettes each with its own discussion illustrating various ways that students understood the concept of a creative career and navigated making decisions relating to the designing and building of their own creative career.
Narrative 1: the pragmatic student
BK is an international student completing a Bachelor of Music. He came to Australia to study accounting. He was a keen musician in his home country. BK noted in his counselling session that many young students from his country choose the accepted route of studying a course where they would be more likely to get a job at the end. After a year of accounting, he decided to audition for a Bachelor of Music and when he was accepted, he transferred. He is constantly balancing studying with working in hospitality (barman, waiter, restaurant manager) to pay fees and live away from home. In his coaching session, he explored the ways in which he can integrate the hospitality skills he is gaining from non-music related work, with the music skills he is gaining from study. His family has owned restaurants or bars, and so it was natural to think about this as an option.
Most students (in N.) finish high-school and then do Bachelors. Mostly commerce, science and stuff. They don’t do music. There is music, but it is not so much advertised as such. I have got my plans. I am going to finish this and then looking at taking a break. I am just chilling because it has been 3 years of work and study, work and study, work and study. It’s weird I’m just finishing my degree, but I feel like I will just start my music degree. I haven’t been able to practice what I want to, or as I am supposed to, do you know what I mean? I’ve got like two things that I really want to do. I want to open a bar or a restaurant and play there. That is where money can come and I can enjoy making music. I have been working in the food industry for a long time and I kind of like it. I want to be creative in this space. Because of my mum’s family. They all have restaurants. I want to open a restaurant in N. I will stay in Australia a few years but then return to N. Restaurant is in the future. I like having a good restaurant, good food and music. Makes people happy and it is a stable job. This is about 3 years down the track (Interview, October 2019).
Identity foreclosure is a term coined by Marcia where individuals have made commitments to goals without prior exploration and a close-minded approach to other options (Marcia, Reference MARCIA and Adelson1980, Reference MARCIA, Lapsley and Power1988 in Schwartz, Reference SCHWARTZ2001). In some parts of the world, identity foreclosure emerges from cultural expectations rather than individual personality traits. Achieved identity is another term coined by Marcia and emerges out of a crisis period when the person involved has considered several different choices before making their decision (Marcia, Reference MARCIA1966).
In this vignette, BK integrated a variation of his parents’ expectations, to go to university and study a discipline that would give him a chance to get a job, into his own desire to study music and to work as a musician. Exploration of alternative career choices is quite new to BK. Having already made some effective decisions in relation to transferring to a Music degree, he is quite mature in the way he balances his options and considers how he can incorporate his multiple identities of musician, barman, waiter and restaurant manager to design a creative career. For BK, his rigidity of foreclosed identity on arrival, transitioned into an achieved identity where the skills he had gained through non-creative work, combined with his family background in hospitality, helped him imagine designing a creative career in which he might integrate and weave his creative practice into a business.
Narrative 2 – the undecided student
Angela is a 24-year-old final year postgraduate student. She is a vibrant and passionate artist, but in the coaching sessions she seemed confused with how to integrate skills and values identification into her creative practice. It seemed as if the values that she had identified for herself did not synchronise with the excitement she felt about developing skills in her creative work. Through the sessions, she continually changed her mind in an attempt to hold on to the value of caring for her father, while desperately wanting to do her creative work full-time. In the first career coaching session she had ideas, but not much clarity. During the sessions, she began to identify interests, passions and purpose. At the end of the second coaching session, she had a much clearer idea of what she wanted to do and how she might achieve it.
I’m one of those people where because I love acting and music, if you put me on a set for a movie or a show, I would soak that up and yep I want to do this and that. I would love to have a gig a week or maybe a show that I’m working towards and rehearsals…
I have outside obligations to think of. My Dad is elderly so when I’m not at uni I’m usually taking care of my Dad so that my Mum can have a break. That takes three days a week. Like I can work around with my Mum so that everything works out schedule-wise. Work wise I would need to find a job that’s in the afternoon/night if that makes sense. Night shift. Three days of caring. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. So Saturday would be gigs, shows and whatever else I need to do on that day….
In the future I want to do an installation of my compositions… I want to take people on a sound and visual journey. I like the idea of interactive art and interactive theatre. I can see it in an art gallery in the city, or at Vivid. That was my kind of goal. That’s my ultimate goal. I like the idea of full-time with the immersive kind of theatre art thing with organisation. Cause that’s kind of just creating, that’s what I love to do. I love using different mediums, art and theatre. Arts and video to create.
Option 1 for me is gig, teach, take care of my dad. And there is the second possibility of going to T. and teaching there. And now the third is creating and immersive and experiential. Creating art that incorporates music, drama, visual arts and creating something that can be used to educate, can be used for community and can be used to celebrate. I feel like the first two have been brewing for a while, but this third option I really really want. If I don’t get the opportunity to go to T. that is the next best. Actually I don’t want to go to T, I want to do that! (Interview November, 2019)
Angela’s story reflects the regular developmental phase of career exploration that precedes career decision-making (Miller & Rottinghaus, Reference MILLER and ROTTINGHAUS2014; Vignoli, Reference VIGNOLI2015; Xu & Tracey, Reference XU and TRACEY2017). Between the ages of 15 and 24, young adults are required to make a range of career choices in order to navigate key transition points such as finishing tertiary education and finding employment (Miller & Rottinghaus, Reference MILLER and ROTTINGHAUS2014). Angela faces a range of complex challenges that impact on her decision-making process. This includes her role as caregiver to her father and the complexity of weighing up a diverse range of potential career paths both of the singular and portfolio nature.
This narrative highlights how intertwined career indecision, career exploration and career self-efficacy can be in the journey to making a vocational decision (Vignoli, Reference VIGNOLI2015). In the narrative, the student explores different options available. Research highlights that higher levels of career exploration decrease career indecision, but that the longer indecision continues the more challenging it can often be to make a decision (Mao, Hsu & Fang, Reference MAO, HSU and FANG2016). Promoting and supporting career exploration appears in research as a means to mitigating and lowering the impact of career indecision (Mao, Hsu & Fang, Reference MAO, HSU and FANG2016).
The undecided student should be encouraged to create contexts and opportunities to practically explore possible career options. Angela is strongly considering the third option of continuing to make contemporary art and music. She needs support and guidance for this, and with the broad range of networks that exist in most conservatoires, it should be possible to assist Angela with this option.
Self-efficacy or the confidence in her ability to make a decision is significant for the undecided student. In a meta-analysis by Saka, Gati, and Kelly (Reference SAKA, GATI and KELLY2008), career self-efficacy proved to be a predictor of an individual’s capacity to take the initiative in their career decision-making process and of their academic functioning. Conversely, a lack of self-efficacy was shown to contribute to career indecision (Saka et al., Reference SAKA, GATI and KELLY2008). This has also been supported by a growing body of research in which career self-efficacy appears to have a more significant impact on career indecision than vocational identity, locus of control, academic outcome expectations and career outcome expectations (Betz & Luzzo, Reference BETZ and LUZZO1996; Creed, Patton & Prideaux, Reference CREED, PATTON and PRIDEAUX2006; Taylor & Popma, Reference TAYLOR and POPMA1990).
During the one-to-one career counselling sessions, Angela seemed to develop more confidence in making decisions about which career path she would choose. This may be related to a range of factors which have been shown to positively impact career self-efficacy. These include the importance of parental support through the provision of encouragement, support, and advice (Ferry, Fouad & Smith, Reference FERRY, FOUAD and SMITH2000), broader cultural and environmental factors (Mao, Hsu & Fang, Reference MAO, HSU and FANG2016) and by exercises and activities which increase social and emotional intelligence (Puffer, Reference PUFFER2011).
Narrative 3: the deferring student
In relation to self-efficacy Bandura et al (Reference BANDURA, BARBARANELLI, CAPRARA and Pastorelli1996) argue that nothing is more central than people’s beliefs “in their capabilities to exercise control over their level of functioning and environmental demands” (p. 1206). In this narrative, Justin reflects on how his religious upbringing and beliefs give him a very different perspective to the notion of control. Justin is in the final year of his Bachelor of Music. He actively surrenders this control and agency over to God while at the same time passively waiting for God to control the situation (Pargament et al., Reference PARGAMENT, KOENIG and PEREZ2000).
In his one-to-one career coaching session, he told the counsellor:
I take it quite literally when Jesus said don’t plan or rather don’t worry for today, don’t worry for tomorrow. It all sorts itself out. Place your faith in him and he will start organising the steps.
For me personally it has been part of my growing up. I have always relied on God for my job opportunities. I have always had a job when I have needed it. Not that I don’t look. But it is more like I will make it happen there but even if I don’t see the returns for a while it is not for me to worry about. He will bring the right things. He will bring it when it Is supposed to be there. I could have any idea about what I want to do, but if that is not what he wants me to do I shouldn’t do it.
I try not to control things and then he will kind of arrange things to be. This is what I want to be next and then I will do that and that will have its challenges and then he will give me a period of rest and then he will say all right it is time for this. Kind of like it always naturally comes rather than me having to force myself into certain areas. He can give me whatever he wants at any point, he can give whatever talent at any time. He can take it away just as easy. It is difficult for me in this context to say well I’d like to do this
Justin is demonstrating a deferring style of religious coping and problem solving (Pargament et al., Reference PARGAMENT, KOENIG and PEREZ2000). Not all students of faith would have this deferring style, but it is a form of coping used by some religious people to gain mastery and control vicariously through God. Students who use a deferring religious style of coping are likely to believe that God is in control of events and people in the world, that God has benevolent purposes and human control is limited; hence, they seek guidance from God rather than acting independently (Pargament et. al, Reference PARGAMENT, ENSING and FALGOUT1990).
The stance of deferring to and depending on a deity is often contrasted unfavourably with secular coping based on autonomy and self-efficacy (Ellis, Reference ELLIS1980). In this vein, Justin acted within a stance of deferring to God. He looked for jobs but did not try to control the outcome, leaving the result to God. Justin’s faith is impacting his approach to portfolio careers. Students with a deferring problem-solving style will not be motivated by appeals to personal autonomy and efficacy when these needs are perceived as being met by a deity or other type of authority figure.
Narrative 3 – the worried student
The following vignette is constructed from data collected during the workshops. This included the pre-workshop survey, workbooks and final reflections. A common theme of anxiety was expressed and this is explored through the character of Fatimah.
Fatimah is a contemporary singer in the Bachelor of Music. More than one-to-one career coaching, Fatimah wants industry experience in her degree. In saying this, she is also concerned about her mental health and how she copes with stress. This challenged her more than her concerns around developing a creative career. She was cautiously enthusiastic about spending more time in her degree exploring her future creative career. She, like many other students, found the music degree demanded a huge amount of time during the week. She said she is “Excited to move forward out of study, and for my creativeness to not be another assessment” (pre-workshop survey, 2019). Fatimah thought it would benefit her to have introductions to creative people she could network with, as well as creative opportunities such as gigs and shows outside of her college network. In Europe and the UK, students attending music conservatoire may have access to ERASMUS an EU program designed to support mobility and exchange between students and teaching staff (https://www.aec-music.eu/home). Fatimah believed that opportunities to increase creative community would help her to deal with anxiety about her future after graduation.
When it came to how she felt about her creative career and what would be most relevant, she shared the following insights.
I am excited to be pursuing a creative career, but am unsure where to go past university. I am also worried that things like anxiety will get in the way of the performance aspects of my creative career. I have a perception of an end goal (my dream, where I would like to be), but struggle to envision the journey to get there. I feel excited, but nervous and fragile.
The opportunities that would be the most relevant for me right now are to meet more artists to increase my creative community, to find a job and to get access to creative opportunities. Then around these practical things, I am interested in other support opportunities like one-to-one career coaching, jobs and skills training and mentoring with industry specialists.
Some of the things I learnt during the workshop included that creative careers can take all shapes, forms, and sizes and can be incredibly flexible and that you can have a creative career even if you pursue a non-arts related path. I also realised that I have to step out and actually do things and that not all of your income has to come from one place (Pre-workshop survey response, 2019).
Key to career exploration and career decision-making is the ability for individuals to connect with practical opportunities to try, experiment and learn about different creative and career pathways (Mao, Hsu & Fang, Reference MAO, HSU and FANG2016). Fatimah’s interest in seeking practical opportunities to grow her network and to get access to employment and creative opportunities align with data on the primary barriers to professional development faced by Australian artists, which include the lack of financial return from creative practice, lack of time to do creative work and lack of work opportunities (Throsby & Petetskaya, Reference THROSBY and PETETSKAYA2017).
Encouraging Fatimah to create the opportunity to explore different career options is a key to her decision-making process. Unlike BK, the pragmatic student whose background in hospitality and business gave him the confidence to think of different ways to use his music skills and knowledge in an entrepreneurial way, Fatimah appears to be challenged by a lack of confidence and some anxiety surrounding what having a creative career might look like.
Conclusion
Encouraging students to actively begin exploring how they would like to design and build their creative careers by providing them with strategies and tools was one of the aims of the workshops and one-to-one coaching. These interventions were all also designed to support and improve the career decision-making self-efficacy or confidence of all students involved.
In the process of this research and with the combination of the one-to-one career counselling sessions and the workshop to assist students to design a creative career, the authors identified different student characteristics that were affecting their self-efficacy in career decision-making. In a meta-analysis by Saka, Gati, and Kelly (Reference SAKA, GATI and KELLY2008), career self-efficacy proved to be a predictor of an individual’s capacity to take the initiative in their career decision-making process and of their academic functioning. Conversely, a lack of self-efficacy was shown to contribute to career indecision (Saka et al., Reference SAKA, GATI and KELLY2008). This paper considers the value of extending the scaffolding of technical and musical skills, which is a positive and very strong aspect of a music degree, by integrating creative career design into curricula to increase self-efficacy in music graduates faced with managing portfolio music careers. Expanding to include this focus in tertiary music education is likely to lower the possibility and impacts of career indecision. This is particularly important for music performers designing and managing a creative career.
As teachers and researchers, we hoped that our workshop and coaching interventions would improve student self-efficacy and that this would be a good thing. What we discovered instead, was a complex, multi-dimensional and in-depth range of the variables identified by the career indecision models of Brown and Rector (2008) and Saka, Gati and Kelly (Reference SAKA, GATI and KELLY2008) reflected in the lived experiences of participants. It became clear that a cookie-cutter approach to increasing self-efficacy in music students was not possible.
BK, the pragmatic student, needed completely different guidance to Fatimah, the worried student. Each narrative provided a lens through which to see how variables such as pessimistic views and anxiety, the building self-concept and identity formation impacted on the career decision-making of students (Saka et al., Reference SAKA, GATI and KELLY2008). Similarly, the variables identified by Brown and Rector’s model including indecisiveness, lack of information, interpersonal conflicts and a lack of readiness could also be seen to be woven throughout aspects of the different narratives (Brown & Rector, 2008). These vignettes provide examples of how a complex range of variables co-inhabit the lives of students. For example, cultural, personal and familial expectations all impacted uniquely on the career decisions of students and their ability and perceptions around making career decisions.
This research contributes a unique set of narratives that put context around the above variables and provide a reference point from which to begin exploring how conservatoire curricula can be shaped to better support the career decision-making of students and raise students’ awareness of their transferable skills and evident suitability for non-arts related careers
These narratives share insights into how better understanding career indecision and its manifestations, as well as finding new interventions and approaches to support career self-efficacy, that have the potential to positively impact on the lives of students. While the breadth and diversity of research into career decision-making and career indecision continue to strengthen, it can be easy to oversimplify the process of career decision-making and these narratives help to showcase the complex range of variables present for many young adults beginning to craft their creative careers.
For example, the deferring student who used spirituality based coping strategies that seemed at odds with students taking responsibility and initiative in designing their creative careers, and yet there is research to show such spiritually based coping activities are strongly related to positive psychological and religious outcomes (Park, Reference PARK, Paloutzian and Park2005). Angela’s story highlighted the contextual and cultural elements which shape career decision-making. For Angela, a rich tapestry of cultural, socioeconomic and gendered expectations and norms appeared to interact with her career decision-making and her indecision to date. One consideration in this context is the cultural background of the student. For migrant and refugee young adults, parents and families play a significant role in the career decision-making process, in particular those from collectivist cultures (Bowen & Kidd, Reference BOWEN and KIDD2017; Yaskushko et al., Reference YAKUSHKO, BACKHAUS, WATSON, NGARUIYA and GONZALEZ2008).
An area for future research highlighted by this narrative is whether the building of localised research and solutions that are committed to and co-owned by communities and cultural groups to reflect their own views on career decision-making could be helpful for students such as Angela (Anglicare Australia, 2016; Bowen & Kidd, Reference BOWEN and KIDD2017; Yaskushko et al., Reference YAKUSHKO, BACKHAUS, WATSON, NGARUIYA and GONZALEZ2008). Occupational decisions are amongst the most powerful factors that influence an individual’s life and appear to be becoming more complex in particular for those navigating precarious, flexible and portfolio careers (Bowen & Kidd, Reference BOWEN and KIDD2017; Jaensch et al., Reference JAENSCH, HIRSCHI and FREUND2015). An indepth meta-analysis of research into professional networking, working experience and internship programs available at Conservatoriums around the world would benefit students such as Fatimah. This information could be integrated by curriculum designers looking to create meaningful connections for students into the industry.
The impact of anxiety on career decision-making and career indecision plays a significant role in impacting on an individual’s ability to navigate career decisions (Braunstein- Bercovitz et al., Reference BRAUNSTEIN-BERCOVITZ, BENJAMIN, ASOR and LEV2012; Brown & Rector 2008; Saka et al., Reference SAKA, GATI and KELLY2008; Vignoli, Reference VIGNOLI2015). Fatimah’s state anxiety around career decisions provided a heightened awareness of the significance of this issue for students. Previous research into career indecision has found this anxiety can promote career exploration and productive decision-making (Germis et al, Reference GERMIS, VERSCHUEREN and SOENENS2006). For young adults struggling to cope with career indecision, evidence highlights that interventions that focus on increasing the self-efficacy or confidence of young adults can help to lower career indecision by supporting them to develop a sense of control in their own decision-making (Mao, Hsu & Fang, Reference MAO, HSU and FANG2016).
From a broader well-being and post-tertiary outcomes perspective, the current research shows that the building of a university or conservatoire-wide approach and set of interventions designed to support the overall mental health and well-being of young adults is likely to have a significant and ongoing impact on the career decision-making of students. Interventions that support the lowering of anxiety and increase student career and broader self-efficacy are likely to positively impact on the generalised career decision-making, as well the general well-being of all students, not only those who are having significant difficulty in making career decisions.
In the current study, while student’s experience of career decision-making and their aspirations were unique, none of the participants voiced that they had spent a significant amount of time deliberately planning or preparing for their careers after study. This is significant as 81% of Australian professional artists will move into portfolio, freelance or precarious employment contexts and will be required to navigate the complex process of designing their employment solutions themselves (Throsby, & Petetskaya, Reference THROSBY and PETETSKAYA2017). In the review of literature on career indecision, it was clear that early interventions are critical for career planning (Gottfredson, Reference GOTTFREDSON1981). For music conservatoires around the world, the provision of evidence-based and up-to-date educational initiatives supporting students to explore the building of their creative careers is crucial for the transition to working life after graduation. With 76% of Australian professional artists also undertaking tertiary education, the support network and educational initiatives provided by conservatoire are the final and greatest level of organisational and educational support that artists will receive before embarking on their professional careers, thus playing an essential role in this transition (Throsby, & Petetskaya, Reference THROSBY and PETETSKAYA2017).
While understanding the changing world of work and having meaningful conversations with young adults around career decision-making is a big responsibility, music educators and institutions have a significant and exciting role to play. National research collectively calls for more local initiatives and resources that engage and empower community-led collaborative approaches (Bowen & Kidd, Reference BOWEN and KIDD2017; Polvere et al, Reference POLVERE and LIM2015). This makes tertiary education the most significant educational space in which to give students the space to explore and discover the diverse diaspora of career options that are available to them in a safe, inclusive and supportive environment, so that they are prepared and ready for life after graduation. The research on career indecision indicates interventions can help to increase decisiveness, provide clear information, resolve interpersonal conflicts and give students a feeling of readiness for the future, thereby positively influencing and lessening anxiety (Brown & Rector, 2008). The research reported in this paper demonstrates that students have different needs when it comes to designing a creative career. It is important to understand what students see as valuable when they finish their tertiary studies (Xu & Tracey, Reference XU and TRACEY2017). Making use of tools such as CDDQ and CIP questionnaires that have been well tested helped researchers to understand individual students’ values. While these measuring tools did provide insights into the level of confidence of students, in the future, a more tailored survey for creative and performing arts students would be valuable. One that takes into account the varied, changing and multifaceted career profile of musicians. Conservatoires should be producing graduate musicians who have designed a successful creative career thoughtfully and with guidance as compared to graduates who have managed several income streams for many years and are exhausted or unsatisfied.
Dr Lotte Latukefu is Head of the School of Creative and Performing Arts at Excelsia College, Sydney, Australia. Prior to that she lectured in the Faculty of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong for 18 years. She studied at the Canberra School of Music, Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Manhattan School of Music and University of Wollongong where she completed her PhD. In 2015 she undertook a Research Fellowship at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM). Recent and current research includes portfolio career training for creative arts students, collaborative learning, practice-led research in music, and socio-cultural approaches to teaching and learning singing at tertiary level.
Jessica is a professional member of the Career Development Association of Australia and holds a Master of Education in Career Development. She also holds graduate qualifications in career coaching for elite performers and social health and counselling. Her work has spanned from private and educational settings, through to managing community-wide and not-for-profit career education projects. She works full-time as a People and Culture consultant designing and implementing scaled Inclusion and Belonging programs and strategies. Away from work, Jess is a professional singer who has toured internationally and continues to feature in a range of original and commercial projects.
