<p>I understand that Photography is a risky career, and chances of making it big are pretty low. However, I don't want to change what I intend to study just because of that.</p>
<p>Assuming I get a degree from a top school such as Parsons, what are my employment opportunities and what to they pay?</p>
<p>Thanks for any replies/feedback.</p>
<p>i think one of the best places to look at is your college's career website. and look for postgraduate survey. Every school have those surveys available online.
From the survey, you will get a good idea of the mean range of salaries, and what employers hired those graduated w/ your major</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply xjis, a quick Google didn't give me any results for that so I think I'll have to dig more.</p>
<p>OP, I understand that you enjoy photography. But to be on the safe side, couldn't you pursue another (lucrative) college degree, while taking courses in photography? You don't have to go to photography school to know how to take pictures. You can also perhaps do part-time after you graduate and attain a job, going to school in the evenings to learn more about photography.</p>
<p>I hope you realize that you'll have a family to feed and shelter years to come (however long that may be). You'd also like to have a retirement fund so you don't have to work until you die. I'm just stating this -- in no way am I dissuading you from leaving photography behind.</p>
<p>It's true that you don't need to go to an art school to learn how to take good pictures. I can already do that and I'm already an award winning photographer at 17 (<a href="http://www.thedailysunrise.com%5B/url%5D">www.thedailysunrise.com</a> for some of my work). BUT, Its hard to get a job in photography (well, at least in India) without a degree. </p>
<p>A more "lucrative" course as I interpret it would be something in the economics or sciences side... problem is, I'm not at all interested in science (and hate it a bit) and economics isn't that appealing to me. </p>
<p>I do know graphic design and web design and already freelance professionally. I am also teaching myself programming. I've studied both science and commerce in school. Over all of that I'd still choose Photography oddly. I just enjoy it so much.</p>
<p>But think of it, I mean, would a Photography graduate from a place like Parsons really find it that hard to get an awesome job?</p>
<p>(I looked through some of the career services sites of my univs, didn't find those statistics on what mean salary is, will look around more).</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply Undefined. Btw, I do plan to take a minor which is Business in the Arts which shows how to run a business in the art world. I hope that will give me a little more security...</p>
<p>Also, can a BFA Photography go into film-making as a cinematographer or is that a separate field and do you need a BFA in Film to do that?</p>
<p>Some salary information is the minimum is around 14,000 while it can go all the way to above 100,000 dollars. The average among all is around 30,000. So. For me as an Indian, it sounds like a lot, but me being the entrepreneurial type, I'd like to see what Photographers running their own studio would earn...</p>
<p>Hey, I checked your site out - very very nice pictures. I'm from Nepal myself, so those pictures did bring good memories.</p>
<p>Thanks undefined =) I especially like it when people can relate to my work, you being from Nepal. SO as you can see, I think I'm alright on the talent and dedication front, just worried about making a living off it.</p>
<p>Azhar - a BFA in photography wouldn't lead into cinematography, necessarily, because the field is very different, but I am sure you could work on independent film projects if you wanted with a degree in photography. Perhaps you could minor in cinema studies while you did your BFA, which would help you, or pursue a Master's degree in Film Production after you finished the BFA.
Good luck :) Nice shots, by the way. Do you process them yourself? What kind of camera do you use? Where are looking at to go to school?</p>
<p>Ha, another ambitious kid. I love how so many people with a digital camera and some Photoshop skills seem to think they're the next greatest photographer. </p>
<ol>
<li>You haven't even gotten into "a top school such as Parsons".</li>
<li>Even if you got into a great school, it doesn't guarantee you a job.</li>
<li>A truly talented artist doesn't need to go to school for 4 years and pay thousands a year to learn him/herself. </li>
<li>If your idea career is to open a studio (still, very lucrative), what you need to do is get your artwork out there. How does a studio make money? By selling art! Now how do you do that? Well, you said you're the entrepreneurial type so I'll let you figure that our yourself.</li>
</ol>
<p>Sorry to be harsh, just giving you a reality check.</p>
<p>redheadcommy,
Thanks for your advice. Problem is photography is so narrow as major, so I do want to have skills in other visual arts as well.</p>
<p>indigo_b - tisk tsk. Let me reply, in order of your points...</p>
<p>Firstly, this means you have not seen my portfolio. The</a> Daily Sunrise
Read the about me page maybe, that digicam and photoshop got me in mags, on digg, got licensed work, sold prints, got awards, and I even featured in the largest english daily in the world. But thats nothing right? Heck I'm even conducting workshops at my age. Wait for it, I'm not suporting your point that I;m making a mistake going to art school wasting my time, keep reading.</p>
<ol>
<li>I got into Parsons btw, as a WM Chase Scholar. I probably got in to every great art school with a top schol. </li>
<li>Of course not, my portfolio will.</li>
<li>That is true. Yet I don't feel I will be able to make it right out of the box, you know what I mean? As soon as I finish high school its much harder to get into the field, after all, I'm just a kid with a digicam right? I'd like a degree.</li>
<li>My artwork is out there. Thats why I sell it. But thats not enough for me to make a living and I feel very insecure living in todays world as a high school grad with a bunch of photos and a digicam as you said.</li>
</ol>
<p>I don't mean to be rude or anything, you just got me a little hyper, sorry. I don't want to argue because I know in a way your points are valid, but calling me a kid with a digicam who knows Photoshop, I took it as an insult, especially because you said that without looking at ny portfolio (did you?)</p>
<p>Oh and redheadcommy, I process them myself, I use a Sony DSC-R1, its a semi-pro, getting a full fledged DSLR next year, I'm looking to go to Parsons but it is very expensive. Tell me something, would you go to the top school (I'm not specifically saying Parsons, I mean in general) and pay a hefty amount or go to a slightly less prestiguous one where you got something like a full tuition schol. Just want your opinion on that.</p>