How to become a musician in Australia
Music Professionals write, arrange, orchestrate, conduct and perform musical compositions.
The all-jobs median is $1,852 a week. Jobs in the music professionals group are projected to grow 11.0% between May 2025 and May 2035, slower than the 13.3% projected for all jobs. Projections are indicative, not forecasts, and JSA says they don't yet reflect generative AI.
What the job involves
- Creating melodic, harmonic and rhythmic structures to express ideas and emotions in musical form
- Translating ideas and concepts into standard musical signs and symbols for reproduction and performance
- Undertaking research and liaising with clients when composing musical backing for television commercials, popular recordings, and radio, television and film productions
- Auditioning and selecting musicians and singers
- Selecting music for performances and assigning instrumental parts to musicians
- Directing musical groups at rehearsals and performances to achieve desired effects such as tonal and harmonic balance, rhythm and tempo
How to get there
What it usually takes. A bachelor degree or higher. This is the skill level Jobs and Skills Australia gives the music professionals group, and some roles differ.
What people in the job have. Highest qualification held: 53% a degree or higher, 11% a diploma, 7% a Certificate III or IV.
Many jobs also need registration, a licence or a specific accredited course. Check the professional body or regulator before you choose.
Courses that can lead here
Estimate your ATAR and this page shows the gap to each course. Your marks stay on your device.
Victoria37 matches
VTAC lowest selection ranks, December 2025 offer round.
Music Industry · RMIT, City60.90Diplomas and other ways in
Showing 12 of 37 matches. Search every course.
NSW and ACT41 matches
UAC lowest selection ranks, December Round 2, 2025-26 admissions.
B Creative Production in Music and Sound Design B Creative Intelligence and Innovation · UTS79.45 Bachelor of Creative Production in Music and Sound Design · UTS74.30 Bachelor of Creative Arts (Music) · Wollongong65.05Diplomas and other ways in
Showing 12 of 41 matches. Search every course.
Queensland39 matches
QTAC course pages, ATAR/Selection Rank profile for semester 1, 2026.
Bachelor of Music · UQ, St Lucia70.55 Bachelor of Creative Arts (Music) · QUT, Kelvin Grove70.40Diplomas and other ways in
Showing 12 of 39 matches. Search every course.
Western Australia6 matches
TISC Course Search: lowest ATAR offered for 2026 entry and guaranteed offer ATARs.
Matched on course names, 123 across four admissions centres. A lowest selection rank includes adjustment points and moves every year. Check prerequisites and whether the course is accredited for this job.
Graduate outcomes, national
Undergraduates surveyed about four to six months after finishing, in 2025, across all providers. Full-time work is among those available for it. All graduates: 75.4% and $77,000. These are national figures for the study area, not for this course or uni, and a first-year salary says little about later pay. Source: QILT Graduate Outcomes Survey 2025.
Does it fit your interests?
Strongest interest areas for this kind of work: Artistic, Enterprising, Social.
From O*NET ratings for "Musicians and Singers", the closest US occupation in JSA's correspondence (a acceptable match). US ratings are a guide to Australian jobs, not a measurement of them.
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Share your storyJob data: © Commonwealth of Australia, Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profiles, February 2026 and Employment Projections, May 2025 to May 2035 (Victoria University), CC BY 4.0. Jobs and Skills Australia, ANZSCO 2013 Version 1.2 to O*NET-SOC 2019 Taxonomy correspondence.
Graduate outcomes: QILT Graduate Outcomes Survey 2025, National Report Tables (Social Research Centre, for the Australian Government).
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Curve ATAR has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.