Each year, Civic Regular Members receive a stipend that is paid bi-weekly and intended to offset living expenses. For the 2024/25 Season, each Regular Member of the Civic Orchestra will receive a stipend of $9,500, contingent upon completion of all required activities.

Major orchestra salaries range by the orchestra from a little over $100,000 to a little over $150,000. Principals, the ranking member of each orchestra section, can make a great deal more, in some instances more than $400,000. And most major orchestras play for a season lasting only about nine- months a year.

There are very few positions open at any given time, relative to the supply of interested musicians. There may be dozens and dozens of candidates auditioning for a single position, and the standards are so high, sometimes dozens and dozens of candidates are heard and still no one is deemed acceptable.