Question:
What careers are open to an Art degree?
I love to design things, draw, paint, scrapbook, and help people, do you know anything that I can be? I'm going to get a bachelors in Art.. thanx :]
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
There are lots of jobs you could do in art, each with its own glories and frustrations.
Just creating art for sale to the public is one course; most people who do that are going to starve of course :-) The people who make a real career out of it usually come up with one commercially viable idea and then mass-produce copies of that idea. If you've ever been in a Thomas Kinkade gallery (please don't retch!) then you know how that can look; if you'd like another perspective, see if you can get to one of the S.O.F.A. shows in NY or Chicago or wherever.
You could become a commercial artist and work for advertising agencies or publishers. That's a gig that, nowadays, requires great technical skill with Adobe Illustrator and similar programs; a good grounding in advertising; and a great tolerance for having grumpy clients who reject your best ideas but have none of their own. The pay isn't great to start but once established you do OK.
Then there's education, mostly college teaching unless you want to pick up a K-12 license. I recall an article in an old Ceramics magazine where the chair of an art department was talking about hiring practices, and how she and her colleagues would go to conferences to pre-interview faculty applicants. She said that most in demand were people who could teach in a wide range of media--people who had their specialties, but who could move over to fill in a course in intaglio or photography or sculpture or ceramics if needed. College teaching pays better to start, but the top end is quite limited--yet the retirement plans are exceptional.
And you could combine the above; do graphic art or teaching while pursuing the creative arts on the side.
You might want to talk this question over with your major professors at the art department, and with the counselors at career development office at your college. You may figure out that you have a great passion, say, for medical illustration--and for that you'd need to pick up a bunch of bio. and pre-med courses. But it takes some one-on-one attention to determine what your strengths and attitudes indicate.