To think art is a hobby not a degree choice

[smithsally884]

Dd y13 Maths probably C, physics probably B ,but shines at art and is predicted A* (94 percent share AS and coursework to be reused for a level). She is severely limited in what she can apply for because of poor predicted maths and physics . She wants to do some sort of art degree now.previously wanted to do primary ed with qts but now thinks it will be too stressful.i think she might as well burn £50k aibu?

Your stupid phone

Well, YA obviously BU as far as your thread title goes, as Fine Art is both a valid degree subject and can be a fulfilling career. Whether it's a lucrative pathway or not depends entirely on choices your DD will make much later down the line than this. What's more germane is what she wants to do, surely. And if she doesn't really know then why does she have to make a choice now? I think rushing into a degree choice without a plan or a passion would be daft whether it's Fine Art or Physics.

And I think the world would be a better place if everyone would stop fucking obsessing about how much money they can make.

I did an Art degree as did my husband and scores of my colleagues and peers.

I've been a successful full time illustrator for 25 years. My husband is an Animator. We earn well.
Amongst people I studied with there are....

Film director
Animators x 8
Illustrators x 5
Games Designers
Model maker for film and tv
Architect
Designer and owner of fashion label
Designer and Owner of a greeting card company
Museum and Gallery curator
Teacher x 2

The creative industries contribution to the UK Economy is over 85uon per year and growing rapidly.

But yeah, just a little hobby

The creative arts industry in the U.K. is the 3rd biggest nationally and contributes £2.6 billion in taxes!

YABVU

Well there are jobs out there if she’s actually good at it. Surely it’s better to try and fail than to fail for a lack of trying.

Source: the Art Council website.

Check it out.

*85 billion

Being a creative is a very sound career prospect - you can't be replaced by a robot

Don't be silly. A degree of any kind equips people with valuable skills and knowledge.

And art/culture is one of the UK's biggest industries and income sources.

Well, without art I think human life is basically pants. Or possibly not even pants, because SOMEONE designs pants, right?

With that combination, has she considered design studies - the people who literally design everything we use. I once worked with someone who went on to design prosthetic limbs at some leading edge place. Maybe go to a university which has both art and design studies and allows crossover.

As someone doing extensive research into the future of education, I'd advise people TO do art degrees.

My PILs are both retired art lecturers and my DD is in her final year of Fine Art.

Any negative comments they've had about the worth of an art degree is met with the reminder that everything you see, touch, use in everyday life is related to art.

So from the phone I'm using now, to the film I'll watch tonight, to the kettle that boiled my water that filled the coffee mug I'm drinking from.
It's all art.

Like all degrees it depends where you study art. If at an oxbridge level university then the world is your oyster. One of my old bosses had a degree in Fine Art, no great GCSEs or A Levels, and yet still became a top investment banker.

Exactly 3cats.

OP Who do you think writes/produces/designs all the stuff for film, tv and CBeebies?

Where do all the book covers, film posters and magazines come from?

Where do your clothes come from?

Etc

YABU. Dsis did a Fine Art degree and has never been without work. She's worked on household textiles, packaging for cosmetics and in-store display design. Well paid work for well known companies, so gets all the stuff like pension, sick-pay and maternity benefits too: No dressing in paint-spattered smocks and living in a freezing garret!

I don't think that strictly true with Art Cherries. I studies at an old Poly. Got a first class degree.

Not one person EVER has asked if I had a degree before I was commissioned. They wanted to see my work. It's all about the talent.

To get ahead in creative Arts you need talent, a great work ethos and tenacity. No-one I've ever come across gives a toss where I studied.

I think your dd should go with whatever her skills and passion are. Working life lasts a long time so it’s much better to be in one that interests you and you can excel at rather than just one that pays the most.

My db did a fine art degree and is now an editor for tv and film. He does earn really well now but it was a slog getting to this point. I have always been envious in a way as he would still be doing his work if he won the lottery as he is so passionate about it - best way to be 😊.

YANBU, you are just being rather blinkered.

Your daughter sounds very talented. Investing in talent is never a waste, it opens new opportunities for her and career paths aside from the obvious ones.

I'd encourage her to go for it.

YABVVVU attitudes like this is why we are seeing decline in arts and humanities subjects at universities. It's incredibly sad. We need more of these graduates - they have skills that are valuable to society.

Around 60% of graduate jobs don't ask for a particular degree subject. It's the transferable skills that are valued.

An Arts degree sounds like a great idea! She can always take her PGCE afterwards if she likes.

It's a good idea for her to take a degree in a subject that will hold her interest and that she will excel in.

Art = hobby

🤣🤣🤣

Well clearly art is a degree, what with it being, you know, a degree.

If what you actually mean is you're worried about the financial outlay not being justified by the likely impact on career earnings, this is a realistic concern, and one that should be discussed. It's true she won't need to pay anything back until she's earning a certain amount, but it's not like there's no possibility she'll end up doing something she could have done without it, work her way up and eventually be earning over the threshold and paying back loans for a course that has done nothing for her financially. And the financial costs aren't just the fees, it's also three years spent not working/working much. Very few families are wealthy enough for financial factors not to be something worth considering when making this choice.

That's not to say she shouldn't do an art degree though. Maybe she's ok with the possibility that it'll cost her more than it's financially 'worth'. And while she's statistically unlikely to be one of the professors etc listed on the thread, art teaching is a realistic career path. Is this still something she would consider?

Creativity brings joy.

YABU as an art Degree can open the door for anything creative.
Even if excellent at the academic subjects it doesn't mean you can't choose to be creative.
maybe she doesn't want a boring job/career, maybe she wants to be an artist.