The Value of an Art Degree

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by Staff Writers

Published on Oct i, 2020 · Updated on Apr 28, 2022

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The Value of an Art Degree

  • Fine art programs emphasize collaboration, constructive criticism, and inventiveness.
  • Many art caste-holders are cocky-employed and work as freelancers.
  • A master'south degree tin can advance your art career and prepare you lot for higher-level education.
  • Though helpful, an fine art degree isn't always necessary for pursuing a career in art.

This yr has been rough for professionals. As countries fence with the pandemic-driven economic downturn, many companies and corporations are existence forced to lay off employees, downsize or, even worse, shut down operations entirely.

All of this has dealt a tough hand to creatives. Some professionals have lost their jobs or seen their businesses take a major hit. These losses are compounded by the fact that many colleges and universities, including art schools, are dealing with public health risks and potentially large enrollment declines.

Fine art schools, notwithstanding, face an additional trouble: the inability to hold in-person classes. Hands-on learning is central to fostering creativity and artistic innovation. Due to COVID-xix, art students must now hone their skills and find inspiration while learning at a distance. This raises the question: Is pursuing an art degree worth information technology?

A young woman in a dark-gray t-shirt gingerly handles a clay urn in an artist's studio.
Hill Street Studios / DigitalVision / Getty Images

What Skills Volition You Gain in an Fine art Degree Plan?

Despite the stigma surrounding fine art majors, an art degree can exist an excellent opportunity to develop and strop the studio skills necessary to forge a career equally a professional artist. Both the surroundings and length of the program allow students to larn relevant tools and environment themselves with like-minded individuals.

In an undergraduate art program, you'll analyze and discuss various art subjects, critique and assess your peers' piece of work, and develop a keen understanding of your focus area. You'll also gain more professionally oriented skills like time direction, interpersonal advice, and critical thinking.

In an art plan, you'll analyze and discuss various art subjects, critique and assess your peers' work, and develop a keen understanding of your focus expanse.

Fine art students spend much of their time working in school facilities, like art studios and computer labs. These environments encourage individuals to create their all-time work while edifice a rapport with other creatives. Kinesthesia are ordinarily there to assist students in and outside of grade.

While foundational and discipline-specific courses are the ground of every major, the theoretical and historical courses in an art program let students to gain an understanding of fine art history. These classes broaden students' awareness of dissimilar art styles and techniques.

Some programs, such as interior and fashion pattern, are more specialized than others, assuasive you to concentrate on a specific vocation rather than a full general overview. Other programs deal with the business organisation side of fine art and delve into areas such as fashion merchandising and fine art administration.

What Tin can You Do With an Fine art Caste?

Art caste-holders can choose from among many professional avenues. Some piece of work as freelancers, while others find work through more traditional means. Some brave souls even accept the entrepreneurship route and offset a business concern.

The median salary for arts and design careers is $48,130.

Creative occupations can be plant in fields like visual arts, pattern, media, and communication. Potential careers include becoming a author, sculptor, graphic designer, and interior designer.

Co-ordinate to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median bacon for arts and design careers is $48,130, or almost $8,000 college than the median annual wage for all jobs. Though most art careers take below-average job outlooks, some, similar multimedia artists and animators, continue to grow at a steady rate.

Aspiring artists and art students tin search for jobs by networking, utilizing their school'south career services, and attending career fairs.

Examples of Fine art Caste Jobs
Job Minimum Degree Required Median Salary (2019)
Art Directors Bachelor's $94,220
Multimedia Artists and Animators Bachelor's $75,270
Fashion Designers Bachelor'southward $73,790
Industrial Designers Available's $68,890
Interior Designers Bachelor's $56,040
Graphic Designers Bachelor's $52,110
Craft and Fine Artists High school diploma $48,760
Floral Designers Loftier school diploma $28,040

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Gig Economy

Nearly art-related occupations boast a significantly college rate of self-employment than other careers. Many art majors cull to freelance or own a business. Some graduates in fields similar writing, photography, and visual art can generate a sufficient income by selling their creative work and merchandise or past offering their services to clients.

Being able to successfully and enthusiastically promote your piece of work is disquisitional.

Traditional Track

Despite the complimentary-spirited nature associated with the arts, many degree-holders secure total- or office-time jobs at companies, corporations, and agencies. Some graduates work long-term jobs in their chosen field, whereas others hop from manufacture to industry utilizing their creative skills.

Most art-related chore openings at companies require candidates to possess at to the lowest degree a bachelor's degree.

Pursuing a Graduate Caste in the Arts

Many art majors earn their BA or BFA and never look back, but some choose to nourish graduate school to advance their careers and concentrate on a specialized area of written report. A master'due south degree can enhance your portfolio, increase networking opportunities, and diversify your career paths.

MFA and MA degree-seekers frequently use graduate schoolhouse to refine their artistic philosophy and artistic techniques while elevating their quality of work. Some graduate art students choose to enroll in a dual-caste program, in which they earn two graduate degrees simultaneously, such as an MBA or MS forth with an MFA or MA.

A master'south degree can enhance your portfolio, increase networking opportunities, and diversify your career paths.

Some other reason to pursue a master's degree is to be able to teach at the college level, primarily at community colleges. Equally an art teacher, you'll critique and guide upwards-and-coming creatives. Exist aware that art professor positions at four-year universities will most likely crave you to have a doctorate.

While some MFA caste-holders get on to institute lucrative careers, nearly graduates earn a small-scale salary. PayScale data indicates that the average MFA degree-holder makes around $61,000 a year.

Is an Art Degree Worth Information technology?

Like any college major, an fine art degree's worth can be measured in many ways.

The benefits of obtaining an art caste include beingness able to raise your creative efforts and interact with other artists across different disciplines. Taking a variety of art courses also prepares y'all to be flexible for your futurity career.

Another perk of majoring in art is that you'll receive guidance from industry professionals, such as local museum curators and award-winning writers and artists. Many times, these professionals have a residency or are function of the school faculty. This career guidance tin can assistance in seeking and obtaining internships.

Meanwhile, some of the downsides of majoring in art include occasional unconstructive criticism and a stressful workload with tight deadlines.

The main drawback of an art degree is the fiscal brunt.

But the main drawback is arguably the fiscal burden many art students take on in order to earn their degree. While the cost of a bachelor's or master'south program can vary depending on the school and the student's needs, many renowned art schools — most of which are individual — charge around $30,000 or more per year in tuition and fees. These colleges unremarkably endeavor to get-go the high price through scholarships and grants, but students often end up in deep debt.

In many means, a BA, BFA, MA, or MFA is closer to a seal of approval in the fine art globe rather than a full-on jumpstart to an art career. Certain, having a prestigious art schoolhouse on your resume can assistance further your career, merely it's ultimately your talent, knowledge, and decision that'll allow yous to become the task you want.

These days, many creative-minded people utilize the cyberspace and social media to enhance their skills, strengthen their profiles, and secure work without getting an fine art caste. YouTube and LinkedIn, for instance, offer numerous learning opportunities and certificates. Networking with manufacture professionals and completing an internship can besides help you pause into the art earth without having to go to school for information technology.

Equally long as you have the talent, network, and some training, you tin pursue a career in art. That said, having a bachelor'due south degree makes you more qualified for certain jobs and more than likely to make a higher, steadier income.

A man in a brightly colored plaid shirt smiles as he chats with a fellow student while seated at a table in a pottery studio.
M_a_y_a / iStock / Getty Images Plus

The Future of the Arts

Employment prospects have dimmed as the economy struggles to recover from the pandemic. Many companies in the artistic sector accept downsized or eliminated departments specializing in areas like design, marketing, and advert. Self-employed artists and those managing small-scale businesses are as well struggling to stay adrift.

Despite all of this, the remote arroyo many companies are taking now might actually benefit fine art careers in the long run. Co-ordinate to an article in Florida International Academy News, jobs in the arts, blueprint, entertainment, sports, and media rank more than highly as telework-compatible than salaried positions.

Jobs in the arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media rank more highly as telework-compatible than salaried positions.

While a remote work situation works well for less interactive art forms, fields such as the dramatic and performing arts rely on proximity to rehearse and evangelize results. The temporary halt to in-person working may injure now, but experts say those areas will be able to conform and rebound quickly.

In the terminate, information technology's up to you to decide whether you should get an art caste. Fifty-fifty if you don't technically need a BFA to enter your chosen field, possessing a college degree almost always looks meliorate to employers than not having one, particularly if you programme to pursue a more traditional career path.


Feature Image: SeventyFour / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Despite its oft negative associations, a liberal arts degree can teach you lot in-demand soft skills and set you up for an array of potential career paths. We answer your question about earning a Bachelor'southward in Art and Art History degree - career outlook, admissions, cost, and programme information. This guide ranks top online bachelor's in art and art history programs. Learn about mutual classes besides as careers y'all can pursue with an art history caste.

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