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?

I'm an art graduate and former art teacher. Life after an arts degree is tough, badly paid and most of my friends who did the same courses work in other fields now having retrained. I will be encouraging my sons to train in something that will eventually earn them money and to encourage any creativity as a serious hobby which they can hopefully build on as their other careers develop.

The people I know who have successful creative careers where they earn a fairly decent wage started off doing something else, saved up and then changed career later so already had the financial security, OR they have really wealthy family and didn't really need to earn or had a big chunk of investment/regular boosts of family money to help them.

Totally echo all those who say you need to let your child follow their passion. I work in software and I'll say if you don't love it, then it's pointless to do a computing degree. I'm sure it's the same with any STEM subjects. You need to constantly be learning new technologies. There's also the threat of Gen AI wiping out all the junior positions. If you are doing a computing degree to open doors, but not in computing itself, then I would ask what door does it open? Why would a fine arts degree not be equally useful or useless? If the position needs a numerate degree, then do you really want to be spending the rest of your life working on something that requires numerate skills?

If you are someone who likes both, one of the PP said their child did design engineering. I strongly believe people need to be following their passions and strengths.

I studied fine art painting. I had began uni at 17 doing marine biology but was too immature to study. Went back at 25. I'm in Scotland so different as I didn't pay for any of it (I have student loan but saved it for house deposit as per Martin money tips advice).

I absolutely loved and value my time at art school. It suited my brain type very well. It taught me how to be self directed, disciplined, and nurtured passion and imagination. I went on to do a post grad in London (fully funded on bursary) and then a masters (partial bursary). I've had a million jobs, employed and self employed including teaching art, working in an art museum shop, artist assistant, and most recently painting for film/tv. It is rubbish grubbing around for work, but I love the work I get to do. Occasionally sell paintings but I'm not focussed on that at all, too much pressure. I love how it's helped to shape who I am, and shape how I think, work and engage with the world. I'd recommend it, but then of course, I've had most of it for free.

I agree with this, especially fine artists who still paint as this seems to be increasingly rare. Most Fine Art students seem to use other materials and aren't doing so much painting, especially with oils, partly because they are expensive.

This. As someone who trained in design , I would say stay traditional. Graphic design is already being decimated. Sculpture, painting, things that are handcrafted - there will always be people who will pay for that. We have been able to buy machine made furniture, machine made pottery for decades, yet there is still a market for hand made pieces.

Also I agree with follow your passion. There are always sideways moves from any degree into associated careers if you aren't earning directly from your degree subject. I earn from design, not the design I trained in, but still creative and fulfilling.

I'd say this certainly isn't true for any of the art and design graduates that I know. Certainly none of us came from money 🤣. Most work in the field though we have a very eclective range of specialities. None of us however went into straight teaching (although I have run workshops).
I don't think it is unusual these days to work in a field unrelated to your degree, all the humanities students that I studied with are in corporate jobs - the 2 who went into law are miserable and planning their exit.
I would study what makes you happy, but make sure to gain experience in relevant fields and get as much out of your degree as you can.

I wanted to study art (photography specifically) and parents encouraged me to study journalism.

Well, journalism didn't end up viable either.

I work in civil service/ tech now after a variety of career pivots. It's hard to predict.

I'd probably also encourage him not to study art- although I'm not opposed to him being an artist!

(For my own DS, that is)

Also worth remembering that sectors that look safe and steady when you are 18 won't necessarily stay that way thoughout your career. A precarious career path can paradoxically be safer than a comfortable one if it means you have the skills and confidence to handle uncertainty and move between industries.

@Fluffywalrus - well, I work in publishing as it happens. If I'm recruiting for an entry level editorial role, I'd be more inclined to think that an English Literature graduate would love books/have an understanding of narrative/a degree of knowledge about different genres. It's an assumption I wouldn't automatically make about someone who studied fine art, so...

I'm not saying that art degrees are a bad thing. I absolutely agree with posters who say that it's a huge shame that creative paths in this country are so difficult now, much more so than they were when we were students. A lot of my friends went to art school and it seemed like the anxiety around job prospects and cost of living was entirely different 20+ years ago. But we live in a different time...

I guess it depends on the field. I studied textile design and got a job straight from uni (having done loads of work experience during my degree to try to stand out a bit) my starting salary was £12000 a year + commission, some of my friends started at £10,000 per year. This was a while ago but they couldn't live in London on that without some help from their parents. Some tried internships to try to step up but again you can only afford to do that in a city if you have help or are lucky to get a paid position which is fairly rare. Many who started on this path ended up retraining as air stewardesses or teachers etc because it wasn't financially sustainable. I've done loads of different things since graduating including running my own business, working for others in design, creative direction, fashion photography etc but ultimately it's not always that stable financially and with ai arriving it's making it harder in certain creative professions, plus a lot of people do not respect creativity and with so much competition it's a race to the lowest quote.

My parents always said just follow your passions and in some ways I'm glad I did, I had some fun experiences but I never made a lot of money and that is an issue as you get older. I'd always recommend having a very varied skillset and if you do choose an artistic degree to not expect to definitely work in that field when you finish/try to have some other options up your sleeve

You have just proliferated the biggest lie/myth ever spoken about Art 🤔
There are over a thousand careers associated within fine art and it's sister degrees and none of them are dead end. No young person should have to listen to that. Portrait artists are rarely without work of some kind. Are well supported by agents and galleries and, she has lots of time to take a very wide view of what possibilities are open to her as her degree progresses. There are many transferable skills and mind sets. I'm trying to word this next sentence OP so as not to offend you, but as an artist and teacher I feel your daughter deserves a better attitude from you with regard to her chosen career. She must follow her dreams and you must broaden you knowledge base and support her. She's gifted and you can be rightly proud of that.

Poppycock......

And God help your kids....

God help your kids.....that's highly manipulative...fish and flesh family....

I've seen the results of this - it was a medicine with DD's best friend, the only career path that her parents would support, she was never cut out for it and dropped out with much family angst.
None of my own kids (or the others I have brought up) have chosen STEM, although none have chosen art either, they are all doing fine. Varied paths, but fine.

I just think, choose carefully which Uni course to do. My friend gave up her well paid career at age 43 to do an art degree at St Martin's College. When I asked her if she was leaning how to draw/ paint, she said no, they teach you how to think! Fine, but portraiture is much more about technique ( anatomy, light, colour mixing etc ) than concepts. I've been doing a local authority course these last 3 years and that, along with YouTube videos and sheer practice has taught me so much!

I went sideways and some would say backwards into City and Guilds qualifications, so I had a trade alongside my design qualifications, this has held me in good stead and I found myself more in demand because I can design too. But initially it was a struggle in some male dominated environments.
My true love will always be graphic design, but AI has already decimated that avenue.

Second everything said here!

During the educational shitshow that was COVID, DD decided she wanted to study Art instead of a STEM subject.
I was initially thinking to dissuade her, but had a moment of realisation. The world is not a happy or pleasant place at the moment. More pandemics lurk around the corner. Wars are breaking out and everyone is skint.
I decided to stand back and let her follow her passion. She has had an amazing 3 years, matured and learned so much about herself.
Chances are she will never earn enough to pay back her loan, but her work ethic is exceptional and she has made the most of every opportunity that has come her way. I hope that in future she will recall her university days as being a happy, golden time where she learned to be her best self.
I don't imagine her future will be much bleaker than most other recent graduates, but she will have had a short time of independence and happiness before the next 45 years of grind kick in.

I did fine art degree at Central Saint Martins after finishing an HNC in multimedia design (web design, graphic design, video editing, 3D animation).

I was lucky to do that just before tuition fees rocketed.

Since then I have combined working in communications and marketing part-time as an employee (where I use my graphic design and web design skills and also take and edit photographs and videos) with my visual art practice as a freelance painter.

So my advice would be that your daughter should definitely follow her passion and do that art degree but also consider complementing it with an MA or a PGCE to gain additional skills.

Artists usually need to have a way of adding a regular income to their art practice and that could be:

• teaching art
• art administration
• curation
• art therapy
• working for auction houses or museum which usually requires more than just a degree.

Your daughter needs to choose her art school carefully as well if she wants to be a painter. When I was at Central Saint Martins, it was all about concepts and ideas, not so much about craftsmanship so I took life drawing classes for example alongside my degree classes.

Also I would advise using any time off your daughter might have when doing her degree to do an internship or part-time work in galleries as a receptionist or invigilator to gain some work experience and start making contacts.

I must say I would have been miserable in, and have no aptitude for, jobs such as accountancy, law or medicine or science.

As a creative person your brain works in a certain way and it is best to work with your skills and interests rather than try to be something you are not...

My sister has an art degree and now earns £100k + at an advertising agency so not convinced there is no money in art!

Regarding the imminent march of AI in the creative industries, I do worry for them when something as beautiful, evocative and brilliant as this can be created ( and we are only in the early stages of this ). I'm not a fan of AI but this is utterly breathtaking...
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/15swoVqQWd/

First of all I hope you enjoy your studies, studying art really does change how you think and how you see. The OP needs to take a look with her daughter at The degrees at the Slade, Glasgow school of art and the University of the arts in London, they have good degree shows to check out and you can register for open days. Norwich and Kingston also do good portraiture degrees.

More by the same AI Artist
https://youtube.com/shorts/vVhNZWKAsMY?si=byJWIWQsiLM2mBuk