A fine-arts degree may be a better choice than you think - WSJ Dow Jones Reprints: This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visit www.djreprints.com See a sample reprint in PDF format. 38 Order a reprint of this article now CURRENT ELECTION PROJECTIONS -THE SENATE 10 Toss up/Lean 42 Solid R or not up Solid D or not up 55 Democrats currently serving* 45 Republicans CAPITAL JOURNAL DAYBREAK Your essential guide to the 2014 midterm elections with the latest polls, news, and analysis from Washington and the nation DAILY IN YOUR INBOX » JR: WEALTH MANAGEMENT B What Does a Fine Arts Degree Get You? The Punch Line: Maybe a Job. By DANIEL GRANT Updated Nov. 11, 2013 12:53 a.m. ET 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." 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. 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 reports@wsj.com. Copyright 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702304402104579149060054918936#printMode[10/29/2014 12:48:07 PM]