What career choices are available for Photography and Visual Arts Majors

Congrats Gordon on your acceptance to an art school!

That is a BIG question, and a good one to ask at this point in your career, but don't get too stressed about it; you've got time to figure this out. I'll do my best as a retired art teacher and current visual artist to answer your question.

Basically, your choices break down along the lines of working for yourself---making your own art or photographs and selling them to galleries, or using your talent and skills by working for someone or someplace else. Making your own art can be a tough path; it requires a lot of patience and often a "day job" to support yourself until you get accepted by a gallery and hit it big. The other path would be working for a company or a design studio as an illustrator, photographer, graphic designer and so on. The advantages of this path is a steady paycheck and (possibly) some benefits. It can be very competitive to get these type of jobs, so be prepared to work hard, come up with a really good portfolio, and see about getting some internships along the way so that you can meet other artists, photographers and designers,and be able to network to get a job.

A third way would be going into art education, and sharing your love of photography and visual arts with kids of all ages. I was a middle school art teacher, and I loved my job. I found I grew as an artist during my years of teaching, and I enjoyed having the summers and school vacations off. I had to take courses to keep up my certification, but they were art classes and further enhanced my skills as both an artist and an art teacher. I'm now retired and am enjoying the freedom to concentrate on my art.

You are in a good place, and I would keep asking this questions when you get to school. I'm sure you school will have some sort of a career counseling center, so check it out when you get to campus. Ask your instructors about careers as you go along. Find out about internship opportunities for summers and even during vacations. Best wishes and enjoy your art school experience!