If your child was planning on studying Art/Fine Art at Uni, would you advise them against it due to lack of job prospects (and AI)?

[NewYearNewBear]

Just that really.
My daughter loves art and is studying it as an A level subject and wants to study fine art at University.
She got an 8 at GCSE exam.

She thinks she can become a portrait artist and doesn't seem to want to consider related carers like graphics etc.
Would you advise them against studying Art even though it's probably the only thing they are passionate about?

Depends on what she would do otherwise. If she is going to be doing a dead end minimum wage job for the rest of her life then go for it . She needs to be aware making a living from art is tough and very competitive.

Yes.

I don't think fine art is an under threat profession from AI. However, it's always a tough and competitive area to make a living from.

I would support her as studying something she’s passionate about and enjoys is a way to get a good degree. Other opportunities will arise.

(I don’t know what an 8 is mind you. Hoping it’s good 😀)

My DD is doing Fine Art, no idea whether there'll be a job at the end of it but still, she loves it, it's what she wanted to do, ultimately it's her choice and she'll come out the other end with a degree. Doesn't really matter what the degree is in these days, lots of companies will hire young people simply because they have a degree on paper, even if it's nothing connected to the job they've applied for.

If she's doing it because she thinks she'll make a living out of art, she needs to be aware that that is very unlikely.
But I wouldn't advise against studying art if she loves it. Education isn't just about jobs. If she's got a passion, I'd encourage it.

I agree with this.

Yes, unless you can afford to fully fund her studies I would advise against getting into £50k of debt without a clear career path at the end.

She should pursue it but also have a back up skill, definitely. Something which makes her employable. Graphic design/layout/animation/whatever.

IMO there are two ways of looking at Uni. One is do what you love, and enjoy the experience. Two is working towards a career. Sometimes these are able to work together, sometimes not.
We are a very academic family and my DS1 was also very creative, my instinct was to push him towards academic work, but I fought the urge and he is now very successfully working in a creative field.
My DD2 same, did one year of creative writing at Uni and hated it, changed to primary teaching. She got an A in art A level and it has helped her in so many ways and also with her MH.
My niece did fine art at uni and eventually settled in social work after using the art to help struggling kids in care settings and it developed from there.
I recommend looking around the University’s, examining the courses, speaking with the students, it will give her the opportunity to see if what she thinks it will be like to finding out if it meets what she envisions.
Good luck my fourth kid is in his final year and then that’s Uni over with 🙂

Many graduate schemes accept any degree.

Some require a numerate degree.

My son studied music and is currently earning his living teaching his instrument while gigging etc.

Many of the people on his degree have gone into graduate jobs not related to music.

Just spent a year going around the houses on this one with mine. In the end DD decided that there is so much uncertainty - and the degree costs so much/creates so much debt - that she is going to do a BA classics at an RG uni and then revisit doing an MA/MArt in illustration/FineArt/Animation knowing she would have a good general degree to fall back on.

We said we’d support her whatever as it’s just important to do a degree in a subject you love so you know it will keep you focused/be fun for the full 3 years, but the enormity of the debt vis a vis the [un]likelihood of getting a reasonably well paying job in a relevant field scared her off in the end. Am sad and worried for our arts and creative industries as I know she won’t be the only student making this decision 😢

I think some of the replies here have it backwards (telling her to look at graphic design/animation etc).

Digital art is under grave threat from AI.

Fine Art is not under threat from AI.

There will always be people who want to buy original art such as paintings, or who want to commission portraits. As long as she sticks to selling originals (and not selling prints of her work) she has just the same chance as any fine artist ever did.

If it were my child, I’d be telling her to follow her passion. Life is too short. She could go into teaching art, restoration, gallery work, anything. You should encourage her.

This is less and less true. The Parents with Adult Children forum full of kids with degrees unable to get jobs.
A degree doesnt mean that much these days. DD had quite a hard timr getting a job and she had a first class humanities degree.

I know a number of people who are successful portrait artists. They are exceptional artists.
they make their living in this way.

In addition the either have /had entrepreneural spirit and expectation to cut their cloth to their fit their income for a long time, or they have parents comfortable enough to support their life for a long time.

one friend teaches at art school.
one retained as a school music teacher.
One friend worked as a film director for 20 years, but now focuses on him art full time and it is extraordinary. I had no idea.

It's heartbreaking, but it is the lowest paid degree, I believe. Several family members are incredibly talented, award-winning professional artists, but the bills get paid by teaching, both at amateur and university level. Worth pointing out that the better known artist who has privately organised classes has a lot of fans among her students who do commission and buy her art.

If my child wanted to be a professional artist I would strongly encourage her to only do it if she wanted to go all the way through academically, and do a doctorate in fine art, such as - https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/courses/dphil-fine-art - because it will open up a much higher earning area of the inevitable teaching and writing career she is going to end up with. Also the Slade - https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/research-degrees/slade-school-fine-art-mphil-phd

I do know one person who appears to be supporting herself through her art but she only went full time after she had paid off her mortgage with her "normal" job.

My children are aware that if they do a STEM subject at Uni we will pay for it in full.

If they choose something else, then they will have to pay.

An Art degree is pointless in the grand scheme of things. If you are a very wealthy family and have loads of art connections and you'll buy her a million pound flat in central London and give her £5k a month.... she is better off not doing art.

Art degree here 👋
sad to report doing the degree made me lose all joy and fun in it. Hated every second. Luckily got a 2:1, haven’t used it since and haven’t ever been asked if I’ve got a degree either haha bloody waste of money :(

I agree with this. I have a Fine art degree from a ‘prestigious’ art school. Not really worth the paper it’s printed on in regards to other jobs and grad schemes. There’s sooo many degrees now that say for example I dunno I went for the Tesco grad scheme, there would be so, so many people ahead of me with more relevant degrees.

Wow that is very controlling. Surely unconditional support is better!

This is another thing. I had to work through doing my degree. 90% of my class were from middle class / wealthy backgrounds.
this put them ahead of me in regards to:

1. time: not having to work (I worked 25-30 hours a week in a bloody bank!) gave them time to practice their skills, do their coursework and immerse themselves in the art world / do work placements

2. art supplies and putting on exhibitions is eye wateringly expensive, I struggled and for example had my frames etc from Wilko they looked shit but it’s all I could afford. My course mates had everything bespoke and the best paints etc.

sadly the art world is completely classist after uni too.

It could lead to many careers such as conservation as well as something non-art related. It doesn't preclude her from other things so I would say let her go with her passion and see where it leads. Careers are not necessarily linear these days.

She's very unlikely to make a living out of it, even if moderately successful. Art teacher, art therapy? She could go down those routes. You may well need a day job unrelated to it entirely.

Something like graphic design or digital art might be more lucrative in terms of arts courses. But most people know they are not really in it for the money.

So basically she'll need to live frugally and be more than happy do other jobs.

But it's not like you can tell an artist that they should try and become a chartered accountant, corporate lawyer or loss adjuster. So it's very important she does what she is passionate about.

If she wants to be a portrait artist I’d look very carefully at the particular university she wants to study at. Lots have very little ‘tuition’ in figurative/ representational painting, and focus more on the contemporary art scene. You need to know how to nagivate both to be successful, but most successful portrait artists have a background in training in more of an atelier based setting, like the Florence academy or similar . It’s a highly competitive profession, often expensive in the early stages (for courses/ materials/entry fees to awards and so on).
If she doesn’t choose carefully (looking especially at the number of studio hours dedicated to drawing/ painting from a model for instance), she could find herself on a course which could just be lots of experimental units , where the time could be spent more effectively studying models from life (as is the case in the prestigious American/ Italian atelier type schools).
Ultimately, if she wants to work as a portrait artist, the students of these schools will be her competition for commissions in the real world. A course which has elements of bargue drawing, using traditional materials etc will be of far more use to a portrait painter than a course with a whole load of contemporary theory.

I don't really agree with this at all unfortunately.

I think these days, degrees are very attainable, and unless you need it for your career, it's a very expensive piece of paper.