As a final wrap up to our Preparing to be a Professional series, I want to share with you some of the things that real live professional music therapists wish they had known when they started out. It sparked a really great conversation on twitter. Rachelle Norman from Sound Scape Music Therapy really cranked them out, but we had fantastic discussions featuring other MT’s who aren’t listed below.  If you aren’t a part of Twitter already, hopefully this will inspire you to go ahead and join!

mibarra889 Meredith Ibarra

@KeyChangesMT I wish I knew that I’d have to create my own jobs and know how to market myself beyond a job prospectus!

RachelleNorman Rachelle Norman

@KeyChangesMT Also, not everyone is going to understand or value #musictherapy no matter what I do. Some folks will just stay indifferent.

RachelleNorman Rachelle Norman

On the business side of it, I wish I had known that word-of-mouth marketing really does work, it just takes time.

MelismaMusic Kathy Lindberg

how easy it is to feel isolated and burn out because of that fact.

victimorious Roia Rafieyan

That I didn’t need to be perfect, for one. @KeyChangesMT…things you wish you knew when you started your career as a music therapist?

RachelleNorman Rachelle Norman

Also, not everyone is going to understand or value #musictherapy no matter what I do. Some folks will just stay indifferent.

I hope that some of the responses in this post helped you to sort out what to focus on as your journey into the preofessional world. Feel free to comment here, or join the conversation on Twitter!