Can you make money from studying art?

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My dd loves drawing and art in general, but feels she ought to choose school subjects like sciences that line up with careers like medicine. Are there well paying jobs for art graduates?

Dd1 has always loved art but chose science and maths at A level. She was utterly miserable and had some serious problems in year 12. She dropped maths, went back to art and is heading off to uni in sept doing an arts (not fine art) degree after doing a foundation year. She’s never been happier. She knows it’s highly unlikely she’ll earn a huge salary, but she’s in a much better place

If she is good at both art and science then there are loads of opportunities, including big bucks ones:

• product design
• architecture
• computer graphics design
• animation
• computer games

The UK is the world's leader in computer games and various bits on TV & cinema animation. Lots of money there

I know two people who make a good living through their work. They are very happy people.

A few slightly random courses to look at that might suit someone with both science and art. We also know someone artistic who switched to some form of design engineering when they found they wanted something more academic (not sure if that is the right word) than they were getting at art school.

Obviously also architecture. Or even a look at Imperials biomedical engineering course that allow for a focus on the design of medical devices.

https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/brand-new-design-tripos-brings-arts-and-science-together-in-one-degree

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/courses/postgraduate-taught/innovation-design-engineering/

https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/academic-departments/northumbria-school-of-design/

Thank you for all the routes to explore!

One thing that an art degree excels at is working collaboratively and supportively - far more so than more academic subjects. Excellent transferable experience

I did a textile design degree and I'm now a graphic designer. I also freelance as a textile designer and on lots of general cool art projects like large scale murals etc. I do very well from it and so do my friends who work in similar fields. There's a lot of snobbery about doing an arts degree and there being 'no jobs' at the end of it. The creative industries is HUGE.

These are the best paying degrees for starting salaries and the worst, after 5 years. So at least be informed by research!

Medicine is a bit behind dentistry on starting pay. The higher salaries reached by doctors outweighs the slow start though. The grad employment rate on some courses is poor. So choose very carefully.

We also know a lot of architects. Some earn well. Others don’t. It’s very variable. However it marries art and science very well but it’s a slog to be fully qualified. Physics and maths plus art is perfectly ok for engineering.

I know a few very successful people from our girls grammar secondary school who went onto art degrees. One went on to be accepted into Deloitte in a graduate scheme and earns more than 150k a year in auditing. Another worked in a finance company illustrating minutes in meetings after graduating and now is a manager in NYC in their marketing dept earning over $300k. Another example started their own company, a property business converting London warehouses into creative work spaces.

Overall though, they earn poorly! A few success stories isn’t the majority. Neither are making money from art. Auditing and marketing isn’t art. The success stories aren’t recent either by the sounds of it. University places have been greatly expanded so a lot more competition for just about any job.

I think it's fair to say that there's far less guarantee of a "well paying job" (per the OP) than most other graduate paths. Some people do make money out of it. Others, not so much, but prefer to stay in the creative world anyway; people have very different priorities.

One step at a time. It is perfectly fine to do Art A level and two academic ones to leave her options open.
I did graphic design and worked in publishing for many years (would still be there if I hadn't stopped after kids). It's certainly not the same think as making your own art, but it was creative nevertheless.
@DuesToTheDirt I think AI will open up another avenue for creatives to earn - someone operates and creates the images that AI then cobbles together from its dataset of existing art (created by artists) and often the AI generated result is refined, again by people, and further algorithms and techniques.

What money is made though? The salaries above are poor by any standards. Might the DC want a house? What about rent? Will the young grad live at home? When might they earn enough to be independent? It’s a huge gamble.

I agree, Art is one A level. Keep avenues open and if money is a driver, be aware that all research puts art subjects near the bottom of earnings. When people have achieved in art, it’s a minority. Lots never got anywhere! Gave up. Moved on. Then it’s retraining. More cost. DD has had to do this. That’s ok and she’s now found her niche but it’s not easy and if you went to be an auditor or marketeer, there really are better routes!!

Auction houses, galleries, museums all need fine arts graduates.

@TizerorFizz Thanks for posting. I really appreciate your perspective too and I think it reflects what dd and I worry about.

If you don’t mind me asking what careers did they go into? My DC is doing Maths, Biology and Chemistry A level but says they are not sure about what career to do. Just wondered with your DH and DS picking a career path not based on their passions and they are happy and well paid what that career path might be? It might be suitable for my DC to look into.

When DS started at his SW Prep School 20 years ago, every single child in his class, bar him, had a least one parent who did something creative, from restoring the Royal coach to having a late father who had been a pop star.

Ditto when DD went to her West London secondary they reckoned that 60% worked in something creative, whether journalism or architecture or something to do with film/TV. This might have changed since the BBC moved to Salford, but parents working in creative fields will still be pretty common. Someone must be earning some decent money.

And now you have this interface between IT/technology and art/design.

She should really start looking at University websites to see if there is anything that appeals. Or whether they focus on science keeping art as a hobby (I have a doctor friend who attended pottery classes through her studies and career and who is really good) or give art a go, making sure to have a Plan B.

Architecture
Interior Design
Interior Decoration
Model Making
Fashion Design
Textile Design
Retail Buying
Fashion Marketing journalism
Fashion Marketing
Advertising
Garden Design
Exterior Architecture
TV Production Design
Art Direction
Styling
Props Buying
Theatre Design
Post Production
DigitalGraphic Design
Lay out Artist
Animation
Graphic Design
Colour Consultant
Trends forecaster
Props maker

Just chucked down this list off the top my head- there are so many more jobs within these headings.

Tbh most people aren't aware of them.

Haven't even ventured into Museums, Exhibitions, Academia in that list.

Absolutely agreed that it's a bizarre route to becoming and auditor or marketer, although some folk on art courses might end up that way. For some people, art (or music or drama) is such a passion that they feel they have to at least try to make a living from it, while keeping an eye on the statistics. (My DD has extremely low material expectations; she is genuinely happier living on a shoestring, in a shoebox, at art school than she's ever been before. I suspect that art will always be her hobby/passion even if she doesn't get a career from it, and nothing will ever take these incredible years away from her!)

Would you recommend it either from a job prospects or pay point of view?

dd has just finished year 3 of architecture and aside from the workload and stress of the course being unreal she’s concerned about lack of jobs and wondering whether to do part two or not? She’s taking a year out next year to think about things and is trying to get a job in an architect firm as a tech/whatever.

OP - a friend of mine did animation and went to the USA after graduating initially working for Henson studios and then Disney. Someone else I know works for the firm which does Wallace and Grommit. Graphic designers I know seem happy in their work so that might be worth considering. And yes, architecture…..though see my questions above and be prepared for 60 hour weeks at uni if she chooses that.

Yes but less opportunities than for sciences for instance. Applied art courses like using cad is potentially more commercial

I studied art as a mature student at Central Saint Martins. I did a part-time degree and was also working the rest of the week. Before that I did a BTEC in graphic/web design and 3 D animation.

I now work part-time using my graphic/web design skills in a marketing role and run my art practice the rest of the week.

There is no doubt that if you want to be an artist you are almost certainly going to have to complement your work by doing something else.

I don't regret it at all though as I know I would have thrived in a job that does not have a creative aspect.

The type of careers that would be open to an art graduate (although you might need to complement with an MA in a more specialise discipline):
working in museums/gallery/auction houses; working for the Art Council; fashion buyer/designer; art teacher; art therapy; interior design; jobs in fashion/television; graphic design and illustration; working for community projects running art activities; animation (if you have computer/technical skills); curators...

There is no doubt though that these are competitive jobs and that opportunities and salaries are limited.

I think people choose art if they are really passionate about the subject and have the type of personality that can cope with the ups and downs of having a creative career.

I would make a really bad accountant, doctor or banker as I know I would not sustain this type of work...so these careers were never suitable for me anyway.

Currently we are in a golden age of TV. Netflix, Amazon, Paramount Plus never mind BBC. Studios being built all over.

They need Arts graduates for all sorts of careers. Will suck up lots of the science graduates too.

When people say Art they always think = Artist.

So limited and out of touch.

When you say "poor by any standards," they are in line with the median wage at age 25 (which is about 25k depending on which source you look at). In a society in which 50% of students go to university, does that count as "poor"?

I suppose, like all things, it depends on your own experiences. (I think I'm well-paid because it's so much more than my parents ever owned, but by MN "high pay" standards I'm barely on the radar.)