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When a 15 year old Southampton lad entered a competition, to write a B track for the R 'n B group 'Damage' and won, who would have thought it would have spiralled into an internationally acclaimed music career. But for Craig David that's exactly what happened!

Having recently returned from the States from his highly successful arena tour he has become one of the UK's most successful artists. Hs recent Number One hit 'Flava' and Album 'Slicker than your average ' plus his 2003 Brit Award nomination for Best British Male Solo Artist establishes that Craig David continues to go from strength to strength.

Not bad from entering into a competition eh? However, this year we have seen countless numbers of pop wannabee's wishing to follow in his footsteps by auditioning for the hit TV shows 'Pop Idol' and 'Pop Stars' with 'Girls Aloud' winning one of the UK's biggest battles for the Christmas number one against Pete Waterman's vocal harmony group (!), 'One True Voice'. If you watched any of these shows you would believe that if you were aged between 16- 25 in the UK, and wanted a career in music, your one and only goal in life is to become a singer!

However, music offers a kaleidoscope of career and study opportunities not only for those who wish to perform. Whatever area you may wish to pursue, though highly competitive, music is an extremely challenging and worthwhile career and offers a high level of job satisfaction.

Performing: Any performing career demands high standards, simply because the competition is so intense. Technical mastery of instrument or voice combined with strong determination and dedication is required. Definitely not a career move for the faint of hearted!

Record Companies: Despite their high profile, record companies are remarkably small and only recruit people with very specific skills, such as producers, PR and marketing personnel, recording engineers and lawyers. Many performers have gone into production in the music industry however this is highly competitive and it is advisable to try and just get a foot in the door - even if that means you are making coffee for the first few months!

Broadcasting: Producing, managing and script writing are some opportunities included in broadcasting. To succeed you must demonstrate a high level of commitment, have an awareness of the media and take every opportunity to gain experience - on hospital radio, on student newspapers and in work placements.

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