$20,000 to $50,000 a year. In addition to his or her performance responsibilities, a conductor also can take on the duties of a music director. A music director is generally engaged by an orchestra's board of directors in conjunction with a committee of orchestra members. Music directors must concern themselves with every aspect of the orchestra's performance and technique. In addition, they serve as a kind of middleman between the board of directors and the orchestra members. Since nearly all the major symphony orchestras find it financially necessary to perform pops and youth concerts, the music director must either supervise this activity or subcontract it to a capable surrogate. If you are contemplating a career as a conductor, you first must examine your motives. Do you seek this vocation out of a genuine and total love for music, or out of a wish for ego gratification? If the former, are you prepared to devote the exceptional amount of time necessary to preparation and study and hazard the extremely high risk of achieving only slight success? A career as an orchestral musician is, for a talented instrumentalist, far easier to launch and maintain.