Jobs for the Major
How this major affects a job search
There are two million artists in the United States. This number has doubled from 1970 to 1990, which means that there is a steady growth in the arts. However, the odds of keepin' it up are slim. You may have to make some compromises.
Want a nice car and a fancy house? You may have to wait on those dreams or enter another profession. Often, artists find themselves taking on commission work to make ends meet. Commission work involves making art the way someone else wants it. Painters typically don't get full creative control when they're hired to paint the Tower of Pisa on the wall of a pizza joint, but at least the money will keep them alive for another day.
Many artists take on a second job just to hang on. There's a reason the term "starving artist" exists. Next time you're at an art supply store, ask someone if they're an artist. The answer would most likely be "yes." Hello, employee discounts.
Some graduates also go the graphic design route. Graphic design is much more commercial, so there are plenty of jobs there. Many graphic designers can work from home on their own art projects and switch to a graphic design project. Taking a few graphic design classes at school while going to school can help prepare you for Plan B.
Common Career Fields
Art Director. Art directors are the project managers responsible for creating movie sets. After conferring with the director (and, if the gig is big enough, the production designer), the art director will hire and supervise all of the people needed to design and build sets. Responsibilities venture far beyond mere canvas backdrops here; you'll also have partial or complete control over lighting, props, set locations, and any special effects that fall under the jurisdiction of set design. Additionally, art directors are responsible for all the scheduling and budgeting surrounding set work.
Curator. We know this sounds like it could be some sort of benevolent cyborg sent from the future to, we dunno, heal people (hasta la vista, scabies), but we can assure you that Sarah Connor is perfectly safe. As intense as their job title sounds, curators usually spend most of their time in museums. Here, they do normal, non-cyborg stuff like general custodial tasks and setting up themed exhibits, like "the first cavemen," "African safari," or maybe even "those little dinosaurs that squirt black stuff at Newman from Seinfeld." Yep, they're in charge of those mini snapshots of history that you see behind the glass.
Fashion Designer. It's 6:00 am. Hanley slumps out of bed, showers, and carefully plans her ensemble for the day—she didn't have time to do so last night. She decides she feels a little scornful today, so she chooses a dark, muted color palette. She contemplates a houndstooth pencil skirt, but opts for a floral peplum top and black trousers. Mixed patterns? As if. She takes half an hour to decide what shoes to wear, and another hour on hair, makeup, and accessories. Image is very important to Hanley. Good first impressions are crucial.
If Hanley's mornings sound a lot like yours, you may already have the makings of an excellent fashion designer. Not only is a great sense of style a requirement, but so is a background in art. Clients expect fashion designers to know a thing or two about color, texture, shape, and tone, and it also helps if you're super trendy.
Graphic Designer. It all comes down to CRAP, or the principles of design. Say it with us: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity. These four bad boys are the basic rules when it comes to graphic design that every grad knows like the back of their hand. Instead of heading off into the world of advertising or web design, some graphic designers forge their own path. Working freelance sure has it perks. It's flexible and you can take on as many (or as few) jobs as you want. Plus, you get more variety, working for companies from Delta airlines to Doritos.
Illustrator. If you're a natural artist, you've probably already been exploited for your talents. Maybe you were probably begged by your first grade classmates to complete their art projects for them. Maybe you saw their pathetic stick figures and indistinguishable four-legged animals and you felt bad—hadn't they ever seen a dog before? Well, they asked sweetly, so you concede. After all, you like drawing.
Well, our particularly artsy Shmoopers, it's time for you to be reimbursed for all your child labor. Yes, people actually pay for skills such as yours. As an illustrator, you can create your own blog or business cards to spread the word about your artwork. Children's books, websites, and newspapers are just a few of the places that always need good illustrations.
Painter. As a painter, there’s no doubt you’ll experience that inequitable sense of glory when you finish a painting. It will be as if you've conquered an army, a complex math equation, or a mountain. But then what? You can't just unpack your canvases and sell artwork on the corner. You need to get it to a gallery. If you send your portfolio to a gallery, it will most likely get ignored. The best way to get into a gallery is to get a referral from someone who knows the gallery. How do you get to know people who know galleries? You go to art shows, attend classes, and you join your local art community. Network, network, network.
Video Game Designer. Game designers work on a game design and development team, and may actually juggle several jobs at once. Designers typically create the game's characters, conjure up a plot, design different levels of play, and figure out how players will score. Plus, they put their art skills to good use by creating the look and feel of the game. On a small game development team, a game designer might also perform coding and programming functions. If that's not enough, the designer might be responsible for project management, which means they keep everyone on-task. It's sort of like herding cats. Designers might also get to perform some early-version testing to work out some of the inevitable bugs. No one likes bugs.
Current unemployment of the major
8%Percentage of majors who get a higher degree after college
23%Stats obtained from this source.