Is Art school really worth it/ Do artists make money, more than just getting by?

Hello Abigael!

The good news is there are a lot of legitimate full-time jobs that utilize a BFA or BA; however, there will be a lot of work on your end to make that happen. In creative fields there is an inherent risk that you will have a part-time job doing what you love and another part- or full-time job doing something to pay the bills. I don't say that to be discouraging, but realistic. Also it's a reminder that you could do a different job altogether and still be an artist on the side if you think that is what makes the most sense for you.

I'll give you a personal example: I graduated with a BFA in Printmaking, but I work as a Graphic Designer because I decided that getting my MFA wasn't worth it. Full-time art faculty positions are few and not in the pay range I wanted and I didn't have much interest in being a full-time artist after graduation. As a designer, I get to make illustrations on some projects, but otherwise I make art on my own time, still participating in art exhibitions, but art isn't my focus anymore. I had to find my own internships, teach myself about graphic design, learn the software, build my portfolio and I worked a part-time design job and was a part-time photography assistant for about a year until I got my first full time design job. I'm happily doing a creative job a love with good stable pay and still make art on the side.

Circling back to your question. You say your parents thing that an art history degree is a good compromise. It depends! If you're interested in working in museums or as an art historian, expect to get a graduate degree after your undergraduate degree. You will also spend a lot more time writing than drawing in your degree and your job. Conservation and restoration is art history plus science. Depending on the degree program, you may need to take a lot of chemistry classes or spend your summers overseas getting experience at archeological sites, cleaning artifacts, cataloging them, and carefully storing them.

But don't worry if that doesn't sound like what you're into, there are a still a lot of jobs that use art degrees!

You say you like to make stories, so you might be interested in getting into storyboarding, drawing comics, working on animation or films, or creating concept art for video games. There are very specific degrees in animation or film, but you can still get into the field by studying in an illustration or sequential art program.

You might also be interested in design and advertising, which is a different sort of story telling. Instead of telling an entertaining or documentary story, you'll be telling the story of a brand, a person, a store, or a product. It's a little more analytical, but still involves a lot of creativity and it's a combination I enjoy.

Photography is another option. It's not just about what you capture with you camera, but learning how to edit images or stage a scene with the right objects and lighting. There is portrait and event photography, product photography, food photography, fashion photography. Photo and film can be intertwined in programs and it would be good to learn both if you go this way because it would give you more job options behind a lens. And of course a degree in journalism focusing on photography or videography is another way to combine analytical and creative thinking in a career.

I hope this wasn't an overwhelming amount of directions for you to consider, but I wanted to make sure that you know that there are more options than art history for you to have a creative job with an art degree! Good luck with your research and I hope you and your parents can figure out what seems like the right fit for you!

Hi Abigael! The question you have is a personal decision that every artist has to make. I started out as a dance major in college, and then I switched to English Literature and Journalism to be more "practical" about what I was going to do with my life. I was talented enough to be a dancer professionally, but having to focus on making money took some of the joy out of it for me. This isn't the case for everyone - I have plenty of colleagues who are full-time dancers and love what they do. But for me, I enjoy letting my art just be art, and not a job.

I think it's worked out pretty great for me. I was able to land a job right out of college in an internal video production team at a Fortune 10 company. I danced professionally on a company that only rehearsed in the evenings and on weekends for about 6 years. Meanwhile, I worked smart at my corporate job, learned a thousand new skills, and got noticed and promoted. I'm now Chief of Staff for the Marketing Revenue Strategy team, and my whole job is based on being able to find the story within the data, and visualize those stories through graphics and words. It's not a studio job, I'm not dancing or reviewing poetry every day, BUT I'm not a starving artist, and I still find what I do very fulfilling. My reports and presentations are used by the CEO of the company to make real decisions that affect our bottom line. AND, by going corporate, I have insurance and great benefits, and I make enough money to fund dancing as a hobby.

What you decide makes the most sense for you is a personal decision. There isn't a blanket right or wrong answer. My best advice for you is to be an opportunist. Rather than keeping your head down and working hard, lift your head up and look around. If you see a gap in the community, or at a company you want to work for, or in the world, figure out a way to fill it. If you are afraid to fail, you'll never succeed. Take whatever opportunities come your way and crush them, and nothing will hold you back for long.

Good luck!