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A Fine-Arts Degree May Be a Better Choice Than You Think

For graduates, job prospects and satisfaction are surprisingly high

Think that art school dooms graduates to a life of unemployment? The numbers paint a very different picture.

"Artists can have good careers, earning a middle-class income," says Anthony Carnevale, director of Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce. "And, just as important and maybe more, artists tend to be happy with their choices and lives."

Not Exactly Starving

A 2011 report from the center found that the unemployment rate in the first two years for those graduating with bachelor of fine arts degree is 7.8%, dropping to 4.5% for those out of school longer. The median income is $42,000.

"Artists' income is comparable to other liberal-arts majors," he says. "They do a little better than psychology majors, since counseling and social work is a very low-wage occupation."

Students at the School of Visual Arts in New York ENLARGE
Students at the School of Visual Arts in New York School of Visual Arts

For artists who go on to graduate degrees, the most common of which is the master's of fine arts, the unemployment rate for recent graduates drops to just under 5%, and their median yearly income increases to roughly $50,000.

Other studies have also found relatively high levels of employment and satisfaction. The Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University conducted a survey of 13,000 graduates of visual and performing college-arts programs between 1990 and 2009; 2,817 were in the fine arts.

Among the findings: Almost 83% worked the majority of their time in some arts occupation, such as art teaching or in a nonprofit arts organization.

"Arts graduates are resilient and resourceful," says Curb Center Associate Director Steven J. Tepper. Sixty percent of the fine-arts graduates in the survey work more than one job, he says, "but they are happy with what they put together."

A Rosy Picture

Bruno S. Frey, research director of the Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts at the University of Zurich, echoes that finding.

Students at the School of Visual Arts in New York ENLARGE

He says he has done "happiness research for some time" and found that "artists generally are happier than the rest of the population."

Of all arts professions, fine artists, writers and composers were found to be the happiest, because "the profession they have chosen gives them autonomy, and that makes them happy," he says. "Actors and musicians, on the other hand, are less happy, because they are disciplined by various rules and have less autonomy."

Mr. Grant is a writer in Amherst, Mass. He can be reached at

Marie C
Marie C user

I was just recently considering a degree in fine arts (already in my 30s), but after doing some research on certain careers and talking to a professor, he was not even recommending this degree as the tuition is very very expensive and may not be worth or wise going to art school to study fine arts particularly nowadays (2015). The only thing that I find very positive is about the studies concerning personal satisfaction and happiness associated with the fine arts.

Besides, this article seems one-sided

Will Penny
Will Penny

This article has had a lot of traction with a number of my peers because it solidifies something we all knew, but had little proof to substantiate. Students who choose a degree in the arts know that their career options are diverse and many. We are trained to think in unconventional ways, where versatility and creative problem solving define who we are as artists and professionals. Any art degree is reliant upon collaboration, intellectual discourse, and the development of effective forms of constructive criticism. Young artists are not the socially maladjusted stereotypes that popular culture imagines, but quite the opposite. These graduates are driven, dedicated, and passionate. They possess the character needed to quickly adapt to their surroundings, and can apply their creativity in ways that others with specialized educations often can't imagine.
When one seeks out a degree in the arts, they quickly realize that their education does not end at commencement. They have mastered the art of self-actualization and are prepared to grow alongside their ever-changing work environments.
My degree has given me the confidence to know that I am more than just an artist, and that I am ready for the challenges that life has to offer.

DAVID OH subscriber

Steve Jobs focused on fonts and typespaces and created one of the world's greatest (and most aesthetically pleasing) consumer brands. He'd be exactly the kind of guy many WSJ commenters would be bashing had they met him when he was younger.

Michael Rulle
Michael Rulle subscriber

Why would a WSJ reader have "bashed" Steve Jobs? You have an odd preconception of most WSJ readers.

Emilie Manrique
Emilie Manrique

Emily. true that Manuel`s stori is good... on wednesday I got a top of the range Land Rover Range Rover after earning $4946 this last 5 weeks and-even more than, $10 thousand lass month. this is actually the most-comfortable job I've ever done. I actually started five months/ago and pretty much immediately began to bring home more than $84, per-hr. ,>>>>

DAVID OH subscriber

Have you read any of the other comments bashing lib arts majors in this article or all other related articles?

John Bangston
John Bangston subscriberprofilePrivate

Why would we bash Steve Jobs? I think its the non WSJ reader that would be bashing him for offering goods and services people want in exchange for money.

Gordon Wagner
Gordon Wagner user

Happiness? Bah! Where's the profit motive in that?!

Anne McGuire
Anne McGuire

Is the WSJ actually trying to make nice with the fine arts and liberal arts majors it has been routinely insulting for years now?

Ted Kucklick
Ted Kucklick subscriber

If one is going to make a go of it in the arts then it pays to do a program at a quality school with a history of graduating employable, successful, working artists and designers. Two of these are Cleveland Institute of Art and Art Center College of Design. Johns Hopkins has an outstanding Medical Illustration program. I am sure there are others that can be mentioned. All programs are not created equal. These programs are also quite demanding as they should be.

Again, if your goal is to be a "fine artist" remember that there are no job openings for this. You have to make your own job, and you have to know how to start and run a small business. This goes for painters, photographers, glass-blowers, etc. If you don't know the mechanics of how to make work that sells, and how to sell that work, you are going to have a very difficult go of it.

Norman Retz
Norman Retz subscriber

So, according to the article, the unemployment rate for the first two years for those graduating with bachelor of fine arts degree is 7.8% but eventually drops to 4.5%. The median income is $42,000.

Yes, by all means, follow your dreams and 4.5 out of 100 of you will be unemployed for long periods of time. When you do find employment the medium income indicates that for each earning $84,000 there will be a fine arts graduate earning zero.

Yes it is possible that "Artists can have good careers, earning a middle-class income." However, there is a big difference between "can" and "will." When I read "Sixty percent of the fine-arts graduates in the survey work more than one job" I wondered how many hours per year these people work to earn that median $42,000 a year?

Yes, you may be happy working in that second job at McDonalds to cover the bills. Oh, that's right, this is about "fine arts" and so it's more likely that second job is as a barrista at Starbucks.


You need to brush up on your statistics.

With "median" income, there is nothing that suggests that if one person earns $84K, another person earns zero.

JERRY KURTYKA subscriber

In my career, the best managers I have worked for typically had liberal arts degrees, perhaps with an MBA. The absolute best had a masters degree in philosophy (he was president of the bank I worked at and later, when he retired, from banking became a fellow at a prestigious DC think tank). Of course, they began their careers in the 60s and 70s when there were still jobs and companies still made stuff here.

A Tavistock study of organization creativity contrasted R&D organizations ranked by innovations and patents. The most innovative ones had staffs whose rich outside interests and connections to unique institutions and causes - "invisible colleges" as the study called it - seemed to be the most relevant differentiating factor in the success of their lab.

I do not think there is a one-size-fits-all magic formula for this question and the usual engineering types here who proffer their opinions are not looking at the bigger picture, which is not to say that STEM is a bad thing. It just is not the only thing.

Bill Weronko
Bill Weronko subscriber

Reg, I tend to agree with you. I'd hire a technical AS degree before a MA in Fine Arts in a second.

Terry Murray
Terry Murray subscriber

I don't hire degrees. I hire people. I did some maintenance programming for IBM in the 80s. We were going to institute a policy that we only hire graduates from the top 100 computer science programs in the country. I went to my manager and asked him who were his best programmers. He listed the 10 names I expected. Under the new program, none of us would have been hired. We had a mix of CompSci, Music, Engineering, Math, and History degrees.

Domingo Trassens
Domingo Trassens subscriber

The artists like the technical professionals deserve good job opportunities because the fine-arts feed the spirit of the people in a similar way that the technical disciplines feed the economic development of the society. Both are necessary for the progress of the human race.

Jamison Landey
Jamison Landey subscriber

"Deserve good job opportunities" implies that someone else should be obligated to take the risk of hiring them. Nobody deserves a job, regardless of whether it is technical or artistic. A job is a privilege based on an employer taking on the risk of guaranteeing a wage in exchange for the employee providing value-added work.


Fine arts are a self fulfilling program subsidized by the government. The VAST majority of fine arts income is from education. The bulk of the remainder is public funded art from both museums and public works projects. The NEA is staffed by artists that decide who gets the funding.

To a much much lesser degree, many of the pure sciences are also funded similarly. Its one of the reasons why health care is so expensive. The same is true for education. Government money creates massive inflation with little competition.

Joshua Lee
Joshua Lee subscriber

The article doesn't classify what jobs these fine art majors are getting into ...

Brian Hess
Brian Hess subscriber

I've always thought they were underrated. For most business jobs as long as you know computers, MS Office, write and read well you are qualified. Fine arts are usually good at the latter.


If you are willing to pay the price, go ahead and follow your heart instead of your head. But if you have to take on huge student loan debt to do it, you need some basic financial education more than anything else. Fine arts degrees are for the kids of rich parents. No one should go into debt for that kind of puffed up credential.

SEAN WISE subscriber

There is an interesting intersection between art, science and engineering and the fields seem to become more interdependent all the time. My sister became a graphic artist in the early 80's. I was a chemist with an advance degree. My father was an engineer working on the space program. With graphic arts going digital just as she got into the industry, my creative sister that always avoided things technical was suddenly the one buying the most advance personal computer she could afford and she had hardware that put to shame anything my father or I used. Jump ahead 30 years and the 3D printing revolution, which had been the purveyance of engineers and product designers since the early 90's, are suddenly finding broad applications in the arts community, making sculpture democratic they way the Apple made publishing a generation ago. Art and science will generally benefit from each other's efforts. This geek is glad to work with fine arts majors and glad to see they are happy with their profession.

Carolyn Field
Carolyn Field subscriber

Art is creative. Done well, course work in fine arts teaches students to take artistic risks. It prepares students to think and for themselves and to understand principles. The biggest obstacle to success after college is the political stew of nanny-liberalism that is served up as a daily side course for four long years.

Betsy Adrian
Betsy Adrian subscriber

Agree with your first comment. Your second one is irrelevant.

Jo McIntyre
Jo McIntyre subscriber

No, it's not irrelevant, Betsy. I agree with both of Carolyn's points. She just left out what she probably thought was obvious - most arts majors don't pay any attention to that pollitical stew since they are busy planning their next creative project.

Nanny-liberalism is exactly opposite to the notions of taking risks, thinking for oneself and understanding basic principles naturally (not coercively) governing human behavior.

Stan Huncilman
Stan Huncilman subscriber

Is teaching art a job or just part of the Art School Ponzi Scheme?

Anne McGuire
Anne McGuire

You obviously have not paid for a gourmet cup cake recently.

Kevin Sneed
Kevin Sneed subscriber

What about artisan bread?

How about beautiful cakes? Are not cakes a form of bread?

Ted Kucklick
Ted Kucklick subscriber

The other way to approach this is to get a degree either in product design or medical illustration. If you go the Industrial Design route be prepared to work very very hard, but there are good jobs out there. Good medical illustrators I know are quite busy, and I see a lot of openings for them. Again, be prepared to be exceptional at art and study a LOT of science and anatomy.

One can make a living in the pure fine arts but be prepared to work your tail off. There are no "jobs" waiting for a fine artist. You have to go make your own. If you can't figure out how to be an entrepreneur and an artist at the same time, probably best get a day job and do art as a sideline.

Ryan McBeth
Ryan McBeth user

I recall the mantra of service economy hustlers: "What is the difference between microchips and potato chips?"

Well, have you ever tried to defend your country with a potato chip?

The fact is that if you are majoring in anything other than Science, Math, Engineering or medicine, your chances of having a job when you graduate will be slim. There may be exceptions to the rule, but in my line of work, if you don't have an engineering degree, then you are useless to me.

Kiranpal Sohi
Kiranpal Sohi subscriberprofilePrivate

I wanted to take art but in my teenage years I was diverted to sciences and maths so I could have a good job and earn a lot of money, 2.5 unit home, car, etc., etc.

I really do wonder what part of me I am missing!
Probably something I will have to regret on my death bed.

Sudhir Rajan
Sudhir Rajan user

If you have the talent, you can become an artist anytime - MFA or no MFA. Henri Rousseau, the famous post-impressionist artist, worked as a Customs Officer until age 49 and then started painting inventing a style of his own. His painting called "Dreams" is one of the highlights at MOMA - once you have a look, it will remain etched in your mind forever..

Thomas Yasin
Thomas Yasin subscriber

I assume your regular job does not occupy you 24/7. You have over 2000 hours of waking time every year to pursue non-career goals. Plus, you have the money you earned with your good job using science and math.

Ryan McBeth
Ryan McBeth user

Yeah, but at least you will have a bed to die in... and it will probably be a nice bed with an expensive an comfortable mattress.

Anne McGuire
Anne McGuire

I don't think a 92% chance of employment after school is a "slim" chance. I wish my stocks all paid off like that.

Brad Clark
Brad Clark subscriber

That really isn't true. A degree is just a piece of paper. It's the person that counts. If you are a hard worker you will stay employed. It's all about selling your major in the interview. After that it's all about getting things done and not complaining.

dean oestreich
dean oestreich user

It sounds like a fine arts degree is appropriate if you have wealthy parents, marry well or you are extremely talented. Over 60% of those with a Fine Arts degree work at more then one job and even with a Graduate Degree (and probably more student loan debt) the median income is only $50,000. Ok, if you love the arts get the degree, but don't pile on $40,000 in student loans that you can never realistically afford to pay off unless you marry a rich spouse.

Kiranpal Sohi
Kiranpal Sohi subscriberprofilePrivate

wow...i think you have just won the award for more stereotypes about artists

congrats...ignorance can be bliss...generalizations, a justification for yourself.

dean oestreich
dean oestreich user

Kiranpal Sohl

I am also an Artist, in fact figure painting/portraits in oils. Unfortunately, I do not have the DNA of Vermeer or Degas so I pursued an MBA. Such is life....The graduate degree supported me and my family throughout my career and allowed me to paint without stress.

Unfortunately, there comes a painful time in the lives of most artists that they relies that they will not live long enough to excel.

Ted Kucklick
Ted Kucklick subscriber

To succeed in the arts you do have to be talented and prepared to work very, very hard. This is not a stereotype it is reality (this is speaking from someone with a BFA, and who has daughters with a BFA and MFA) One daughter is a successful product designer, and the other is a successful museum manager.

elie mart
elie mart user

You are a successful parent.

Andrew Fately
Andrew Fately subscriber

arguably, your recipe for success is not restricted to the arts, but to all occupations. find your talent and work very, very hard.

Kenny Heagle
Kenny Heagle user


Teaching or nonprofit... so there aren't any real jobs for them, just make-work jobs.

Brad Clark
Brad Clark subscriber

Yeah, you're right. All the printed T-shirts, shoes, backpacks and jackets out there probably design themselves.

Roxie Radke
Roxie Radke user

@Brad - Those are the graphic arts job, not the "fine arts". Fine arts are the oil painters, photographers, classical musicians etc. (Stuff at an opera or museum.) Graphic arts education tends to have an emphasis on needed software /business design skills and lives in a whole nother department usually if a school offers it at all. It's possible for a fine arts major to transition, but if they don't have the computer skills or the talent to make a living, they end up teaching or managing museums and such.

Brad Clark
Brad Clark subscriber


Fair point. I honestly just assumed it was part of the same deal by now. That said, I still think fine arts is like anything else, if you are good at what you do and you are dedicated, there will be a way to make money. Check out the movie "Exit Through the Gift Shop." Even street/graffiti artists are selling paintings for over $100,000 these days.

I guess that my opinion, based on my own experience and the experiences of those around me (good and bad), is that the individual determines their success or failure more than any degree ever will. If you rely on a degree to get you a job, you are in for a rude, rude awakening. If you are competent and driven, you won't remain unemployed for long.

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