Brian Jones, Arielle Sitrick, and Courtney Cardin are rising musicians at the University of Southern California (USC). As college students, their paths toward their goals could not be more different. These three talented, driven students provide insight into the value of a college education and the various doorways into the music industry.

There is a sense in our present society that majors in the arts are impractical. Medicine and engineering are where the money is, and where the most concretely marketable skills are learned. Technical skills are in high demand. So the path to success for aspiring artists is vastly different - perhaps rockier - than it is for those in technical fields.

But aspiring musicians and music students put just as much time and work into their studies as any other student - perfecting their craft, writing music, rehearsing, slaving away at the keyboard or with their cello or in the studio.

Some musicians are discovered as young children. Some drop out of school. And others are here at the USC Thornton School of Music, primed for success. Our three rising artists have explained why they decided to - or not to - pursue a degree in music, and the chair of USC's Popular Music program weighed in on the benefits of a music degree as well.

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In the words of Popular Music major Brian Jones, "It's terrifying studying music." But every musician has his or her own path to success. It's up to the individual to decide for himself what that path will be. Perhaps a look at these students' stories will help other confused but determined artists make the right choices to reach their goals.

Arielle Sitrick, Narrative Studies Major

Arielle Sitrick is an indie-pop musician who goes by the title R.E.L. She has been singing since before she could talk, and began writing songs in high school. She has since developed her own very unique sound, and has released an EP of three songs as well as a music video.

And she's not studying music.

Arielle is double majoring in Narrative Studies and Theater. But majoring in music did attract her for a time. "I had a roommate in the Pop Music program. I thought it was so cool that they got to do basically all music, and the opportunities presented to them were amazing. I considered switching."

She didn't switch, but she is pursuing music just as conscientiously as a student who brings music home as homework. She believes a Popular Music major would be limiting. She has a thirst for learning, and couldn't imagine confining herself solely to music in the classroom. But all she's studying is geared toward a career in music - she believes her majors could only help her career.

"I feel like the more you know, the more it adds to your art, and I love learning in general. So studying narrative studies, or even history and anthropology, I feel only bolsters what I can do in music."

Arielle is driven to enter the industry in her own explosively creative way. She doesn't want to fall back on a university program to open doors for her - she wants to carve out her own windows.

"The industry is so unpredictable that I think it requires creativity and outside-of-the-box-ness. Majoring in something else kind of helps with that because you have to find your own way in. You can't rely on a program to get you there."

Her ambition is clear; while some might wish for a program to ease their way into stardom, Arielle is determined she won't need it. As for her chance of success? Her music speaks for itself. The energy - from the unexpected rhythms to the dynamic lyrics - of gems such as "All That Bite" and "Plateau" is unlike anything to hit the music scene in a while. R.E.L. is bound to explode.

As for the practicality of a music major, she believes that if she didn't make a career out of music, her Narrative Studies B.A. would help her find another career. But her major is not a fallback; it is meant to contribute to her art.

"I don't really believe in fallbacks. That might not be practical, but I think if you're really driven to do something, you should go for it. Life will take you down the path you're meant to end up on."

Brian Jones, Popular Music Major

Brian Jones is a bass player for the alternative-pop band Carlton, a producer, and a senior in USC's Popular Music program.

After being a part of several bands and meeting the guitarist of Carlton in high school, Brian became certain that what he wanted to do for the rest of his life was music.

He says, a little tongue-in-cheek, "I wanted to be a performance major because I wasn't good at anything else. I was okay at other things but there was nothing else I really liked."

Brian believes there is no limit to what a student can learn with music. He cites his own experiences in the Pop Music program with producing, songwriting, and arranging, which he did not discover a talent or liking for until taking songwriting classes at USC and writing a string quartet arrangement for another class.

"I would have never had that kind of opportunity before, and I'm really glad I did because I've found it's something I really enjoy. I want to do more stuff like that."

Beyond giving students a platform to try their hand in every corner of the music industry, the Pop Music program allows students to build a network - and this is immensely valuable, given the music industry is a lot about luck and who you know.

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"I have a great network of musicians, just because I went here... If I need to get a band together for something, I can close my eyes and point wherever and come out with a really good band."

Becoming a professional musician requires time, space, and money, and a music school environment allows ease of access to all the tools needed to build a career; students don't have the pressure of hiring people to write or play or record for them, as they can collaborate with one another.

Students also don't have to worry about rehearsal or recording spaces, as these are provided by the university. In a music school setting, as Brian says, "everyone is trying to do as many things as they can and figure out what they like, and everyone's really supportive of that."

The Virginia native is certain he made the right choice of a major. He says, "I'm not scared to be a professional musician. I feel like I have the tools I need to make it one way or another just coming out of here. I don't think I would have had that sense of confidence or security if I had not come here."

Brian is already on his way to making it. His band, Carlton, spent two weeks touring the Midwest with pop artist Shwayze.

But at the beginning of Brian's college career, his parents were skeptical of the practicality of a Popular Music degree. Even Brian admits that studying music is risky - there is very little job security.

He still says he wouldn't have wanted to study anything else. "I'd rather be happy struggling to make this work than to be unhappy wondering what could have happened if I'd continued with music."

As a word of advice to musicians questioning their futures in college and beyond, Brian says," I don't believe in fallbacks. Just try to do what you want to do. I don't know why you wouldn't try to do what you want to do as hard as you can."

Courtney Cardin, Music Industry Major

Courtney Cardin is a Music Industry major at USC. She is also part of the Chicago-based pop duo Sanibel, which has a single, "Up!," on iTunes.

After her experiences with musical theater, songwriting, and recording, Courtney decided she wanted to learn the business background of music "for a new perspective." Her degree, which introduces students to the business side of the music industry, is a kind of happy medium between a degree in the arts and one dubbed more practical by society.

Courtney chose a Music Industry major because she is interested not only in the creative side of music, but also the artist development side. She is passionate about all facets of the music industry, and her wide interests led to some difficult decisions when entering college.

She was always interested in a music performance degree, and having a career as a recording and performing artist is her dream. So making the decision between a performance and industry major was difficult. In the end, she chose a Music Industry major because it fed her musical passions and had the added benefit of a business foundation, giving her a wider array of job opportunities after graduation.

"I had the creative foundation, but needed the business foundation. You don't know where life will take you; learning music law, management, and licensing makes you more marketable."

Classes Courtney has taken for her major have provided her with some incredible opportunities. Once class brings in professionals from all sides of the industry - production, management, even ticketing - every week. Through this class and others, Courtney says students create a "big network of people, sometimes future internship opportunities." She says the benefits of her major are the skills she learns and the network she continues to build.

Courtney says, even though she is learning a lot about the business side of the industry, "studying business doesn't make me less passionate. I have to focus on school, but there are other opportunities to keep up with my hobbies of performing and singing. There are chances on campus to perform; you don't need to be a pop major to pursue music."

She is proud of her major, and says she is learning about all that goes into building an artist. She advises, "It is important to study your passion, to work hard, and to love it. Success follows you once you follow your passion."

Patrice Rushen, Chair of USC's Popular Music Program

Patrice Rushen is the Chair of USC's Popular Music program and a Grammy-nominated singer, jazz pianist, composer, and producer.

She attended a preparatory music program at USC when she was three years old, and later majored in Music Education at USC. She wanted a composition major, and told her parents she hoped to compose for film and TV.

"They were like, 'Oh, that's nice! What would your real job be?'"

But her Music Education major gave her a wide perspective on all the different sides of music, and allowed her to privately pursue her interests in composition and arranging. She says, "The organization and the kinds of skills I learned being a Music Ed major were things I relied on later as a music director for television and as a producer."

Rushen, who continues to enjoy a concert career based on several hit records, says that USC's Popular Music program is exactly what she wishes she could have had while at USC. She believes a music performance degree - namely in the Popular Music program - could be immensely valuable to aspiring musicians.

"You get more benefits out of it than just the music knowledge. You get the people skills, you get a certain kind of understanding of responsibility... The kind of networking and things like that with other people who are as passionate as you are."

Rushen's words echo those of our three aspiring artists. The networks formed in a university environment are a major perk of a music major, especially at a university whose music programming is so broad. Students build relationships with people on all sides of the industry: the composition side, the conducting side, the artist development side, the songwriting side, the technical side, the performance side.

Each student is expected to explore all sides of the music industry themselves. Rushen says, "You have to see it in the context on entrepreneurship, technical requirements, marketing, touring, moneymaking... To do this in a school environment gives you the assurance that you would be able to perhaps craft yourself a career."

Rushen says she knows students who, while exploring all the different sides of music, have made complete transformations. Incredible bass players have come into the program and left as competent songwriters and producers. According to Rushen, this kind of talent development opens up many doors for students after graduation.

"They don't have to work somewhere else; they can work inside the music industry in another aspect of it, while they can also nurture what it is they want to do in terms of their own particular expression, because they have the skills to do so."

Rushen has high hopes for musicians coming out of academic institutions. She believes they will change the entire industry and will develop a higher form of art.

"I think we are very close to being able to see the results of several generations now who have gone through programs that support their interest in this area of music - it will actually change the level of the music that is out there."

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Speaking with these incredible talents has revealed the creativity and drive required to get into the music industry. The paths are varied, but a core theme remains in each student's journey: success requires a willingness to try new things, a recognition of the value of relationships with equally passionate people, and a fiercely determined spirit.

Reach Staff Reporter Ciara Lunger here and follow her on Twitter.