General advice needed

[jimf]

Hey there dear fellows! I have an important question to ask and I don't know where exactly to ask for opinions, so I decided to post here.
I'm a 20 to 21 years old student at uni, studying a joint BSc in Mathematics and Physics.
I started uni at this age, because I was preparing to get my Piano Degree from a conservatoire in my hometown in Greece for the past two years. This year I decided to fulfill my wish to study these two sciences at University Level so I moved to Scotland for 3 years to study there. Now, my dream was and is to become a conductor eventually. Hence, after my BSc I intend to pursue that. So, I would like to ask you people, whether you think that realistically I would have a chance to get accepted in an academy to study music (and whether you think it would be better to apply directly for a master in conducting or start from the beginning). Do you think that the academies will take into consideration my academic qualifications? What could I do to improve my chances? I already have a degree in music theory and harmony.

Thank you very much,
Dimitris

[indianajo]

I suspect you are too late to become a conductor of a large and famous orchestra.  
You didn't meet some vastly important mentor at summer camp, the way Bernstein met Copeland.  In conducting the famous or major, IMHO it is not what you know, it is who you know.  And you (and I) are from nowheresville when it comes to the famous and influential.  You have to be from metropolis, and run in the right crowd in that elite group. The only counter argument I can think of is Dudemel, who came in from starring from a prestigious program in Latin America to conduct the orchestra of the most Latin of US cities, LA.  Now he has moved on to fame in Italy or Germany, where he is racking up headlines but maybe not a lot of money, I suspect.  
We've got a new guy conducting the symphony in our 3rd string city, Teddy Abrams, that studied with Michael Tilson Thomas at some point in his youth.  The conductor of SF Symphony.  You didn't I imagine.
My band director, with a master's in music from Cowtown U, got to conduct a vastly talented amateur group in my high school for three years. The "symphonic" band.  Then he went on to become a school counselor, because that paid a whole lot more. This man could conduct whole scores by memory without looking at the paper.  But those people with master's degress in music from Cowtown University (where he & I graduated), however talented, don't go on to conduct the city orchestra, even in the same city.  
Stick with the physics and math.  You could be programming computers or production robots or logistics systems or doing big data analysis in a few years for real money. There are a lot more of those gigs, than conductor jobs of orchestras with recording contracts.   I did all right financially as a physicist, even though my career was interrupted at a key point by a call back to military service.
There is one elevator to the top - writing talent. George Gershwin was from Metropolis, but the wrong neighborhood.  He jumped up from song plugger in Tin Pan Alley, to headliner at Carnegie Hall, by writing  the music for a lot of hit Broadway shows. Then Rhapsody In Blue for Paul Whiteman (Radio & concert star)  made his name forever.  He could conduct when he wasn't playing the piano.
Henry Mancini started writing for televion shows, which was a nothing gig in 1955.  But his TV riff grabbed the ear, sold a lot of records, and pretty soon he was writing for top of marquee movies.  Then he could guest star as conductor with any orchestra once a year.  Plus the record company would hire him a studio orchestra to conduct and  make record after record, which sold like hotcakes. 
Pure writing talent is a rocket to the top. I don't have it. Do you?  I knew a girl who wrote lyrics & book to a musical in 7th grade.  Why isn't she famous? Oh well.  She was from Cowtown, too.  BTW, my alma mater university was built in 1946 on the grounds of the demolished stockyards by the railroad yard, in our top 10 city.   
On the counterpoint, Benny & Bjorn made Stockholm famous, not vice versa.  So if you can write like they could, there is still hope.  Find a backup group at a summer camp, as they did, and enter Eurovision contest or something. 
As for conducting, I led the church choir down the road last Advent. No pay, no glory. But the music was beautiful  I got a few nice thank yous and an offer of a ride anytime I was in a jam from a retired baritone.   There are all sorts of amateur opportunities for the talented musician, for no money.  Money in the music business goes to people who are famous already.  I'm not. Sounds like you haven't won any international contests before age 15, either.  
Best of luck in your endeavors.  

[iansinclair]

Dear me, Indianajo, that is a gloomy sort of outlook!  However, there is much in what you say.  I'm not sure where jimf is from, however in the US there is one avenue which can lead to contact with the sort of influential people: some of the summer institutes.  Of which the best -- both in terms of contacts and in terms of the actual education -- is Tanglewood.  At least in my not so humble opiinion.  The list of notable conductors who have studied there or taught there or both is truly staggering; the instrumentalists and vocalists who have studied or taught there are also a stellar crew.  It is an amazing place.  It is also very very hard to get into... there are other similar summer institutes, of course, and I know that there are similar things in the UK and on the continent.  Worth looking into.