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?

Do you still have to do art foundation before taking an art degree? ( that's what I had to do back in 1992)
I also did maths, physics and art at A level. I totally bombed (for me - I was a straight A student till I started 6th form, then I lost focus big time) and got B, D, C.
I THOUGHT I wanted to take 'art' for a degree. But I honestly didn't know what exactly.

So I did an art foundation course, which covered ALL the subjects. Got a bit confused. Specialised in textiles, changed to jewellery, visited uni's because I thought I wanted to study jewellery. Then I realised I didn't. Then I had a last minute 'WTF' moment and tootled up to the local uni and asked if I could do engineering. I didn't know what kind. I just figured that sounded like a 'worthy' course. They practically bit my hand off, as there were only 4 other women applying across the engineering department that year (96 men)

I ended up with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I didn't want to be an engineer. So I did a masters in IT. I'm now a software tester. But my main love is making bags. So. Textiles.

My point is, she has time to make a decision if she needs to do a foundation in art. That will focus her a little bit more and help guide her. She may do what I did, or it might make her mind up for her that she does want to pursue some kind of art.

She could goodle job opportunities for graphic designers and 3D design for products/exhibitions/spaces. Decide which interests her and pays. Then take a vocational course in one of those.

Or she could go and speak to a careers adviser.....and get advice off someone qualified. Information off Google is okay but you really need someone who can help you interpret that information and formulate it into a career plan.

Would she be interested in graphic design.

Anything to do with the entertainment industry will benefit from art degrees.

Films, TV, fashion, advertising, museums, teaching, product design, game design, technology design (think phones etc) marketing, event management, photography, makeup artist, the list is actually endless!

How do you think the very site you are positing this on was created? It was designed by someone, on a software which was designed by someone else, who likely had qualifications in something art related.

My daughter did a degree in fine art . She is now a prop maker & earning a good wage. She had good grades & could have studied something more academic but I encouraged her to do what she wanted as it is her life not mine. Let your daughter to do what she enjoys and helps her to research all the difference types of art courses.

I had to do an art foundation too, as well as getting the required A-levels which meant resitting one whilst doing my foundation to get a B 🤦🏻‍♀️

It’s cetainly not an “easy” degree. Most are self led so whilst we had one lecture a week we had to be in the studio every day all day, setting our own problems and answering them.

I think someones portfolio can show you a huge amount about how someone tackles problems and comes up with solutions tbh.

I think art degrees are great, but I’m a little disillusioned with the idea of university atm with how much debt it puts young people into 😔

Hmm. I think people are overselling an arts degree as a way to have some fabulously lucrative jetsetting career. It is certainly worth considering if you are genuinely interested, but from watching family members it is also fucking hard work and long hours doing a fine arts degree - a lot of the time you need to go in to campus to get access to workshops, tools etc, and after taught hours, the time spent on your own artwork outside that time is significant. (And I will say there is absolutely no guarantee of an arts related career, especially if from a working class background and underconfident.)

It is really not an easy choice. So, I would say as pps have - encourage her to take a year out, look for work experience, figure out what actually interests her and fits her well enough to spend the tuition fees and the next three years of her life working on.

The combination of maths/physics grounding plus art skills might be a really good match for graphic design, gaming, etc but the sheer variation in courses out there is utterly confusing and you cannot just look at the course name, you have to look at the syllabus and whether they offer placements in industry etc. Far better to look at that after a year or so out, when she has some idea what she might enjoy and is not just panicking about having to pick something fast.

As long as she has an idea of the type of direction / career to do with it I think it's fine.
So many jobs as people have said - teacher, graphic designer which can lead to all kinds of things; artworker, gaming design, web design, interior designer, etc, plus the increase of craft based and arts based independently run businesses... it can also be of huge benefit in careers where you have to make creative appraisal e.g. Marketing.

I would be delighted if my child was artistic!

A major college near me has stopped graphic design due to lack of demand and kids now have to travel into the major city to do it at A Level, I'd predict that in 10-20 years time we'll be moaning about a lack of arts graduates and your daughter will be doing just fine!

I suppose it depends if you think creative types are a bit thick. I am 'lucky' to be very academic. My dad not so much. However, he is a very successful artist. He has had his gallery for 30 plus years. It is likely his gift may make me very rich. My academic brain has not done so much for my family.
I really hate snobby people, which my dad faced for years. Especially as his reason for giving up work and becoming an artist was so that he could stay at home with his children and do the school run as a single parent.

What I would probably say is, if you do decide to go for a degree in art, music or performing arts, you need to be committed and organised and prepared to take every opportunity to find out about possible careers. .

She should do what she has a passion for. I did Law at uni due to being pressured to do something academic. I hated it and have always regreted not doing a subject I enjoyed.

Agree as a mother of a dd doing an arts degree, you need to step back, it is her choice. you dont want to take the blame she may lay on you!

My DD is doing 3art A levels.... absolutely loving it. She wants to go on and do a foundation course and then an Art degree. Because she is so engaged with what she loves she is doing really well. I am so proud of her because she has the strength and knowledge to know what she wants to do.

I wanted to do politics, economics and geography. My parents decided they were "Micky mouse" subjects and I ended up with Geography, English and Chemistry. Going on to do Environmental Science degree and PhD. I hated every moment of it. Finally at the age of 40 I now do a job I enjoy..... But I could have got there earlier if I hadn't gone down the route my parents wanted me to do. They would say they didn't make me do the subjects I "chose" but the pressure of expectation was a heavy burden. The expectations came from their disappointment in their own failure to become world class scientists.

Be careful in your guidance because I suspect your daughter knows what she wants to do but is concerned that it doesn't live up to your view of what she should do. Be brave and let her live her life even if it isn't what you think it ought to be.

An art degree would have been more useful to me now than my geography degree. I'm a software engineer and the other half of my team are designers, all studied art and design of some sort.

Design is an enormous industry, UX designers, product design, graphic design for marketing campaigns and branding. Every single company I have worked for has had designers and commissioned other agencies to do cool animations and other arty funky stuff when needed.

If she is talented and can use that artistic flair to learn Photoshop, InDesign, Sketch etc then she will get work.

Art is my hobby, it's a great hobby and has kept me happy all my life. I did an art degree but I don't have a creative job. I find it easier doing a 9 to 5 with a consistent income and people around me.

DD is very creative, so I told her if she wants to be an artist she should do a business degree.

What a depressing and dismissive view you have, OP. If you're indicative of the value our society puts on the arts no wonder they're so poorly funded. There's more to life than an obscene salary.

There are jobs for graphic designers and art executives, job in galleries and museums, jobs in the movie business, and some people make a living from selling art. All of these are few and far between, concentrated in certain parts of the country, and in most cases those who are successful don’t earn much. There are a heck of a lot more accountants earning £50k than there are artists.

Performing arts is similar - people do a degree then go back home to Doncaster and end up working in Asda while pursuing their degree subject as a hobby. It depends greatly where your DD sees herself living and what sort of lifestyle she envisages when she’s 30/40/50.

YABU there is more to life than money. Better she does something she enjoys and excels, than do something because you want her to and be bored and mediocre.

Doing something you are good at and enjoy is the pathway to being succesful and happy. Parents have a choice to support and encourage their children's talents or not.

What she can earn in an art career depends on where she goes for her degree. She should aim for one of the top schools or forget it.

i think she might as well burn £50k aibu?
If you really want her to burn £50k, continue with that plan to become a teacher. She’ll end up exhausted, working ridiculous hours for very little money, burn out and destroy her health, then find herself unemployed because she’s “too expensive” once she has several years experience and the school can hire a newly qualified teacher to do the same job for less.

LewisMadam - you seem to be very confident in your sweeping generalisations which I suspect can't be substantiated. On what facts do you base your assertions that:
(a) these jobs are few and far between
(b) they are only in certain parts of the country
(c) in most cases those who are successful don't earn very much

I'd like to see these statements supported by evidence before they have any credence

With maths, physical and art she should be thinking of architecture.

I have a BA and MA in Fine Art and a good job in a museum. I studied philosophy politics and art history as part of my undergraduate and postgraduate studies. So I think you're being pretty judgy. There's also loads of creative subjects which are more likely to lead to a spec job such as design subjects.