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 wanted to do fine art and went to Art Foundation school after my A levels (I was also very academic). At school I was allowed to do traditional painting and drawing but at art school I was encouraged to embrace alternative forms of expression (video, installation, performance). I was really not sure how I'd ever make any money from that sort of thing unless I became very well known (Tracey Emin style) and so I decided to pursue a more academic route and ended up in a well paid profession. I decided this before doing my degree, so I didn't have an art degree in the end. I didn't want to be penniless but some people are happy to pursue their love even if they are on a very low budget, so for them it may be the right thing to pursue an art career.

Yes they’re all free unless you’re older than 19. They’re further Ed not higher Ed, you can apply to any of them. Usually they do open days and also taster days. My DS had an interview the other week and was offered a place on the day, providing he doesn’t totally flunk A Levels. He has a taster day this week.

they are usually keen to take anyone who is keen - it’s pretty open and it’s about making a wide creative opportunity for anyone interested to make a great portfolio and go from there.

my DH had no qualifications at all (undiagnosed dyslexia and ADHD) and they offered him a place on the day. He got a first in the degree he went on to and is very successful.

luckily foundation courses are one of the last bastions of free education that can change people’s lives and also allows some people to access amazing education that they wouldn’t otherwise go on to. If my DH were in that situation now he’d still be able to get in and do well.

most foundations have a great selection of facilities- and I think sadly it’s a case of ‘use it or lose it’ because they may not be around forever in this climate.

My DS is in 2nd year of Fine Art after also doing a Foundation year (at a different uni).
Stand alone Foundations are free but a lot of unis now offer it as an integral year in a four year degree. Which isn't free. FE colleges are a good bet. However DS went to Leicester De Montort Uni which was a brilliant stand alone and free Foundation with amazing facilities and a very cheap city to live in. It would be worth a look.
Fine Art is so much more than painting. DS's practice has changed completely.
He also does modules on Professional Practice and Visual Culture.
The former involves talks from people working in all sorts of industries, also CV writing skills, practical help with running your own business etc etc and work experience (which they have to arrange themselves, he worked for a charity developing their design collateral and also at a children's after school art club in a deprived area of his city).
Visual Culture is a research and essay based module developing those sorts of skills.
He has also had the opportunity to curate at shows, running an interactive space in the Unis Public Open Studio event which got him great exposure and exposed him to project management, budgeting, leadership of a team etc
He has learnt a lot of skills which are very transferable as well as immersing himself in the art world which he loves. He has access to amazing workshops in everything you can imagine and has done all sorts from welding to aquatint.
Oh and he has landed a paid summer internship with Tesco this summer. So Fine Art has not been a barrier there!
It's about using the skills the degree has taught him and the experiences it has exposed him to, to make a great application.
I would argue that it isn't necc about the degree type, it's what you do with it, how much you engage, what experiences you can grab whilst there.
There are plenty on his course who sit in their rooms, drawing and painting and not much else who won't be employable. Just as there are many other grads on other degrees who don't do anything over and above their studies and struggle to get a job.

That sounds like a really good course! Glad to hear the breadth of what they are doing - in my days in Art School some of those were definitely lacking :-)

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.

Id say life is too short to be saddled with £50k debt for a degree without a job at the end of it.

There are no degrees with a guaranteed job. My other DS is doing medicine. He is not even guaranteed a job beyond 2 years post qualifying.
No one should go to uni to do any course believing it's a ticket to a job. It isnt.
Whatever the course, it's about the person at the end of the day. How much they grab any opportunities presented, find their own opportunities and build a set of employable skills.

There are shortages in medicine. Your son is likely to be employed for life.

There are no shortages of artists and you do have to consider if the debt is worth it for a degree that doesn't lead to a job at all.

@ThisUniqueDreamer I'd be interested to know your personal experience of Fine Art or medicine.
I was offering my thoughts based on personal experience of both.
Hope your DD finds her path OP.

My partner is a consultant if that helps. Nice to know you have so little faith in your son that he won't get a post beyond FY2.

My instinct would be to advise against, but I fully admit I don't really understand the art world. I'd definitely feel more positive about it if DC was extremely confident and articulate and seemed to have a very good business and self-promotion head on his/her shoulders. That's key to making a go of any creative freelance profession.
It's a tough world out there for arts and humanities grads.