Most people are music fans. During the day, as I’m working, I’m often listening to iTunes, and one of my favorite things to do on weekends is go to shows with friends to see local bands. Did you know that you could turn this interest into a job? If you’re a music lover, here are some awesome career paths you might want to consider:

• Radio DJ or Station Manager: If you love sharing your favorite music with other people, working at a radio station might be the perfect job for you. You could work as an on-pair personality, where you’ll get to host small talk segments and determine which songs get played, or you could work as a station manager, preparing programming and making decisions that affect what goes on the air. The downside to this type of job is that entry-level jobs typically have you working odd hours and on-air positions are extremely competitive.
• Cruise-Related Music Jobs: Most cruises have musical elements, whether that be entertaining people as part of a performing team, working as a cruise ship DJ at on-site dance clubs, or giving dance lessons. You can get started with a seasonal position as a performer or instructor and work your way up to more lucrative year-round positions where you’ll become part of the cruise’s team of workers responsible for planning the ship activities and managing entertainers.
• Dancer: Working as a dancer could mean anything from teaching belly dancing classes to performing on stage as part of a dance crew. As is the case with any artistic position, working as a dancer takes tons of hard work and dedication, but if you’re willing to put in the time, you could someday even work as a background dancer for a celebrity or find yourself as a dancer in movies or on Broadway!
• Event Planning: Believe it or not, event planning is a great career choice if you’re interested in working in the music industry. Although events are planned in a number of industries, with a degree in this field, you could work planning concerts, music festivals, or other events that have deep ties to the music world. As an added bonus, if you work as an event planner in the music industry, you’ll likely get to meet a lot of the stars that play at these events.
• Recording Engineer: Of course, working as a musician is the most obvious way to find a job you’ll love as someone who enjoys music, but not everyone has the talent or ability to write songs, sing, or play instruments. Instead, why not consider becoming a recording engineer? In this position, you’ll record music in a studio, piecing together vocals, instrumental parts, effects, and more to create a finished product.
• Video Game Development: Think how weird it would be if your favorite video games didn’t have any music? Working as a game composer requires you to work closely with the rest of a video game design team to create an ambiance that fits the storyline of the game well. Positions in the video game industry are extremely competitive, so if this route sounds appealing to you, consider volunteering to do some sound mixing or composing for a start-up independent developer, which will help you build your portfolio.
• Faith Music Director: In most religions, music is a part of worship and religious ceremonies. If you’re a religious person, you might want to consider working as a music worship leader, organist, or choir director for a church in your area. Some of these positions are volunteer only, but many are paid positions, at least on a part-time basis.

Music jobs tend to pop up in almost every industry if you look hard enough. If you love history, a music museum like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame might be the perfect place to work. Someone with retail experience could find a job selling music at a local record shop or a chain like FYE. Interested in nursing as well? Nursing homes and children hospitals often hire activities directors, who schedule music programs for patients. No matter what your interests, there’s likely a music-related position that’s perfect for you.

Happy Wednesday. As you probably know by now, each Wednesday I post three hot new jobs from our database of job openings at the JobMonkey Job Center. 

The Job Center has hundreds of new job openings all updated daily. Whatever field you are looking and whatever region of the country (or the world) you want to work in, the Job Center has you covered. And best of all, it’s completely free for job seekers to use our Job Center — so come check it out today!

This week, I am spotlighting jobs in the film and music industry. These coveted positions may seem out of your reach, but a great resume with related internship experience or transferable skills from other jobs can go a long way! Learn more from the JobMonkey about the film and music industry jobs.

1. College Representative Jobs, Universal Music Group, Lincoln, Nebraska
Here’s a cool opportunity for a college student interested in breaking into the music industry. Universal Music Group is looking for a coed to be responsible for marketing developing artists to his or her assigned college market. The representative will create buzz within a local demographic by utilizing label-supplied tools and other tools and monitor the effectiveness of various promotional campaigns. The representative will meet his or her targets by establishing relationships with activity committees and clubs; keeping up with artists’ tour itineraries; and assisting Sales Reps with in-stores, merchandising venues, and store promotions. The ideal candidate will have excellent communication and organizational skills, knowledge of Legacy, BDS, and SoundScan systems, and strong marketing skills. Eligible candidates must be enrolled in a degree program, taking a minimum of six credit hours per semester (two courses).

2. Product Director – Catalogue, NBC Universal, London, United Kingdom
If you want to take your job search on the road to Europe, here’s a great opportunity. NBC Universal is looking for a Product Director to lead the strategy and creative development of catalogue titles, special editions, box sets, and other related campaigns. The director will also be responsible for defining pricing strategy, developing international marketing budgets, setting revenue targets together with the VP of Finance, developing creative materials and DVD bonus features, developing internal relationships with studio contacts, and more. The ideal candidate will have extensive marketing experience, ideally with a multinational company. He or she must also have strong project management skills, an in-depth understanding of cultural and local practices, and strong negotiation, influencing and interpersonal skills.

3. Director Marketing Services, Paramount Pictures, Hollywood, California
It doesn’t get more Hollywood than working in Hollywood! Paramount Pictures is looking for a Director of Marketing Services to create Screening Programs for all premieres and junkets, order all theatre marquees for the Los Angeles and New York markets, proof gallies for field use, and generate handle all Soundtrack and Book packaging. The ideal candidate will have a BA or BS degree in Marketing, Advertising or related field and three to five years of marketing experience. He or she must also have excellent communication and multitasking skills and be able to work in an intensely fast-paced environment.  Interested candidates must be willing to submit to a background check (Not sure what that entails? Check out these past posts on how background investigations can affect your job chances.)

In the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression, iTunes has announced that starting next week, it will cost 30% more to download your favorite songs.

The decision seems more than a little out of touch with the economic reality of many would-be downloaders. In fact, columnists around the country have strongly criticized the decision. And you know, I’m wondering if this price-hike won’t just push more music enthusiasts away from iTunes and toward illegally downloaded tuneage?

What does all this have to do with finding a job, you might be wondering? Well, in my daily searches for news on the music industry, it seems that this is one Hollywood-heavy business that’s really feeling the pinch of the recession. Maybe that’s why music providers like iTunes have taken to hiking up their end-product prices.

But while profits and therefore jobs may be dwindling in the music industry, there are still opportunities for industrious hard workers. You might want to consider interning — it may not pay many of the bills, but it is a great way to get your foot in the door of a very competitive industry.

To learn more about a career in the music business, check out JobMonkey’s articles on recording engineer jobs; DAW Operator, Arranger and Composer jobs; and music production jobs.

Did you know that you can search for jobs right on the JobMonkey site? It’s easy: Just go to the field you are interested in and scroll toward the bottom for the link to the job board.

I’ll make it even easier for you every Wednesday, by bringing you three of the hottest jobs in JobMonkey’s very large pool of positions.

Art Director for AOL Music
This new music industry job is for a high-powered, experienced art director who can help the industry’s leading music site continue its success and branch out in new directions as well. The duties of the Art Director include overseeing all aspects of the design for the site, plus supervising the site’s new tour-tracking function, to be launched in ’09.

Wind Customer Manager, GE Infrastructure (expired)
This Green Collar Job in Schenectady, NY is looking for someone to serve as the GE’s primary contact person with its critical customers, to represent customer issues back to GE Wind, and to assist in the implementation of corrective actions for that customer. GE wants someone with a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering plus 5 years of experience.

Political Associate
This Government Job is actually a liaison position, based in New York at The D. E. Shaw Group. Their new associate will study governmental and financial developments and make recommendations to senior partners. The group is looking for someone with at least a few years of full-time or internship experience in government, plus a stellar academic record.

Do you fit the bill for any of these jobs? Be sure to bookmark the job board in your field of interest, as JobMonkey updates ads daily. Good luck in your jobs search!