Art students can sometimes be seen as the butt of the joke, going to university for a degree without an obvious career path. But in the digital age, with freelancing and teaching opportunities, an art degree may actually be worth it.
Delphine Keim, the head of the art and design program at the University of Idaho, said a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in the program prepares students for various paths after graduation. Students in the program usually specialize in their second year, leaning towards either design or art.
“Students may identify themselves as artists or designers as early as their second year, but they’re still taking coursework in both,” Keim said.
A career trajectory taken by art and design students includes being a fine artist. Keim said they have digital skills that accompany their artistic drive.
“They may go into a situation where they find a gallery to represent their work, and the gallery would be selling their work for a percentage of what they sell,” Keim said.
Social media has created opportunities for artists who have a strong digital skill set to market their own art. Keim said they can also incorporate a freelance approach to selling their work online.
“People are directly selling on their websites because they have the digital skills that allow them to self-promote and promote their work,” Keim said. “They also have a lot of the skill set and typically some coursework in design. So it might be that a painter goes out there and they’re painting and they’re doing a little bit of side work.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2020 the average annual income for art and design jobs was $49,600. This was $7,650 more than the average for all occupations that year.
The BLS also stated that art and design occupations have slowed in growth, while at the same time, there is a new demand for animation, visual effects and creating website layouts.
Art and design students are encouraged to create in the digital realm. Students learn how to utilize platforms like Adobe suites and other sites to create designs. Keim said this opens opportunities for potential jobs in a design agency or advertising firm.
Keim said several Bachelor of Fine Arts students go the graduate school. The art and design program has a high rate of students attending quality masters’ programs. Students pursuing a graduate degree usually want to teach in higher education.
“MFA is the terminal degree for creative practicing artists and designers,” Keim said. “We do have students that know that that’s what they want, and they go straight into grad school. I typically advise students, in the design realm especially, to go out and practice first because your practice will inform your teaching.”
Keim believes an art and design degree is worth it, especially in today’s workforce.
“Our students become experts in a process called the design process,” Keim said. “You develop something, you put it in front of people, and you have those people critique it. And you go back and revise it. You see how they’re working. You go back to the drawing board, you develop a strong knowledge of materials and confidence that if you don’t know, you know how to figure it out.”
Megan Overton, a first-year Master of Fine Arts student in the UI art and design program, first received her bachelor’s in graphic design from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. She then opted to work before pursuing a graduate degree, working as a graphic designer in Seattle for five years.
“I had always been curious about teaching at the college level,” Overton said. “In order to teach, you need to have your masters. But additionally, I think after just getting some real-world experience, something I’ve been passionate about, which is what role arts and graphic design can play in social change. And it felt like going to grad school and being able to have that level of focus and dedication would be a great space to explore that further.”
The master’s program at UI is three years, where Overton specializes in the design side of things. Overton said receiving her bachelor’s in graphic design provided foundational skills that allowed her to explore the field.
“I wouldn’t have been in a place to get the job that I did in Seattle after school if I hadn’t gotten my bachelor’s,” Overton said. “It also just set me up with a really rich community to not only work within my own practice to be able to bounce ideas off of, but even just connections.”
Sierra Pesnell can be reached at [email protected]