Trying to make the "big decision", would love some advice!

College Majors
1

Recently one of my drawings, posted on another site, got a lot of feedback and I was very excited about it (shared on instagram, the share reached 35,000 likes and gained me 1,000 followers; posted on Reddit and reached front page, received commission requests). I told my friend and he just said that “it’s just a cool experience” and that kind of struck a chord with me because it really sucks having something you love be just “a cool experience” and not something people encourage you to put your life into as opposed to things that are generally considered smart and successful. I was beginning to feel that I had a chance to go somewhere further with my art but it’s hard when so many people advise against it… like, there must be a reason for that, right? They wouldn’t advise against it if it wasn’t a bad career choice?
It sucks when something that I really want to do with my life is just viewed as a hobby. I’m also hesitant because I spent my entire high school career worrying about getting into a college, I already put so much work into the whole “good college good paying job” path that it feels wrong if I were just to leave it.

However, things have been looking up in other ways. Recently I have discovered things that interest me besides art (such as human development, although I’m not sure what I want specifically, I believe this is a good starting point) that I can major in and still be happy, I think. I feel a little more optimistic about college, but I’m still kind of confused on what route is the best for me.

So here’s my current plan–

I will continue doing my best to get into a good college, such as a UC or even an Ivy League (I do believe I am qualified)

However, I will also put more work on my portfolio to get into an art school.

My parents said they would support me in art school only if I get a full ride scholarship/ full tuition payment. So I will try to do that. If I get that, I will for sure enter an art school.

If I don’t, then I will follow my idea to major in human development and go to another college that my parents would be willing to help pay for.

I believe this is a pretty solid plan, however, there is one issue. I am nearing senior year, and I am not the highest in volunteer hours. (maybe around 75?) I am not sure if I should spend the remainder or my free time building up on those volunteer hours to be a better candidate for the colleges and scholarships in my “human development plan”, or if I should spend that time building up my portfolio for the “art school plan”.

What do you guys suggest? Thank you in advance for any answers and for reading this long, ridiculous message haha.

2

You could minor in art.

I would not worry about volunteering unless you are targeting top schools, and it is probably too late no anyway.

You should contact your HS art teacher about portfolio development, and sometimes local art museums have programs to help those aspiring to be an art major or minor in college.

3

“Human development” and “art” of course suggest teaching. Teaching at preschool, kindergarten, elementary school and postsecondary school levels (though not at the high school level) is expected to be good for jobs in coming years (http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_102.htm). In fact, “art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary” (college and perhaps post college), are expected to have 16% job growth (35,500 openings) during 2012-2022.

People like to do art when there is little or no demand on them to earn money, so kids, seniors and very disabled people represent markets for artist-teachers - that may greatly exceed the markets for art itself.

An idea that comes to mind is volunteering to teach art somewhere (for instance, a kids’ summer program, neighborhood kids informally, a senior citizens’ center) to see if you like doing it.

4

@rhandco Hmm, yes, a minor in art could always be an option! Thanks for the ideas!

5

@jjwinkle that’s true, an art teacher would be a good idea! However, would I major in education, or would I major in art? And the job growth prediction is definitely a benefit.

And thank you for the idea. I will look into that opportunity!

6

Going one step further on the art minor idea, you could double major. Plenty of people do that.

7

missjantastic,

Your mention of “a UC” suggests to me that you are in California, and, of course, it is desirable to avoid having your employment limited to private schools, so I researched the requirements of that state.

The (direct) path to take requires that one know what age group one aims to teach. For preschool teachers, California requires an Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education (ECE) or a combination of classroom time and a lesser number of college units (http://www.ehow.com/info_8029557_preschool-teacher-requirements-california.html).

For elementary school teachers, California requires a multiple subject teaching credential (http://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/teach.html).

For middle school and high school teachers, California requires a single subject teaching credential (http://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/teach.html and http://www.teachcalifornia.org/Steps/Secondary).

Two California community colleges’ advertisements for art instructors that I looked at both essentially said:

“Must meet one of the sets of qualifications listed under a) through c):
a) A Master’s degree in fine arts, art, or art history.
b) A Master’s degree in humanities AND a Bachelor’s degree in any of the above.
c) A combination of education and experience that is at least the equivalent of the qualifications in either a) or b) above.”

Art would be a minor part of elementary school teaching, and high school teaching is not projected to have good job prospects by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

If you really like preschool-age children, then that route would be indicated. Otherwise, the two remaining levels, middle school (for which the BLS projects 12% job growth 2012-2022) or college level would seem to offer you the most satisfaction.

There are Art Education bachelor’s programs in the California State College system (and at a few private colleges in California) which apparently include all the coursework you need to teach art in middle and high school in California (http://cig.ctc.ca.gov/cig/CTC_apm/GE_i.php and http://cig.ctc.ca.gov/cig/CTC_NewSubject/ART.php).

CSU Northridge especially caught my attention because, in addition to having an Art with concentration in Art Education major (http://www.csun.edu/catalog/planning/plans/2015/artart-education-concentration-2015/), it’s “recognized as one of the top schools in the country for animation by Animation Career Review” (http://www.csun.edu/mike-curb-arts-media-communication/art/art-education). Among its several dozen art courses, about twenty courses are in digital/computer art. You could take a couple of courses as electives to see if you find any glimmerings of paid job tracks in that. Animation is a relatively warm area of art employment. Two and a half times more “openings” are forecast for multimedia artists and animators (artists who create animation and visual effects for television, movies, video games, and other forms of media) than “openings” for fine artists (which includes painters, illustrators, sculptors) (although it’s still well below the all-occupations average for prospects).

If you decide, after getting an Art Education degree, to try teaching at the community college level, it would appear that you would only need then to get a master’s degree in fine arts, art, or art history. In fact, I see CSU professors with nothing more than an MFA (Master’s in Fine Arts)…

8

Most people don’t see the arts as a viable career, and that is really sad to me. As an artist, I want to tell you to just go after art if that is your passion. However, you do have interest in another area, so pursuing that major along with a minor in art or a double major just may be the way to go for you. Especially since your parents will only help pay if you major in something other than art and a full-ride scholarship in art will be hard to get. They’re worried about your future - they’re your parents after all - and art-related careers can be tough. The beauty of minors and double majors is it allows people with more than one interest the opportunity to explore both.

9

Art in and of itself isn’t a bad career choice. It depends on what you want to do with it and your plans. There is art everywhere, but a lot of beginning artists only thing about it in the most narrow and traditional way. They want to be world-renowned painters or sculptors, displaying their art in famous museums and galleries, or commissioned to do sculpture for famous parks or monuments. And there’s nothing wrong with hoping for that as long a the budding artist realizes that it’s exceedingly unlikely and they need to think about their art in a broader way in order to support themselves.

There’s art design for animation studios and game studios (which is difficult too). There’s graphic art for all kinds of business. There’s website design. There’s smaller sculpture and painting work - doing smaller commissions and freelance work for local or regional parks, local public buildings, etc. Not being an artist I’m sure there’s more stuff I’m totally not thinking of. There are also art-related careers, like museum work or curation or working in auction or antiques places. A lot of artists also have a day job and then freelance part-time on the side until they build enough of a business to do it full-time.

You could always double major in human development and art, if you wanted. If you are really that good, you can do a joint program like the Brown-RISD program where you can concentrate on art and the liberal arts at the same time.

Also, getting into college is not about the number of volunteer hours you have. It’s about the impact and your passion. Don’t concentrate on logging hours; think about how you can make the most impact. (Also, not everyone volunteers. It’s not absolutely required for admission).

10

An addendum:

To qualify oneself to teach in California middle/high school the (expedient) thing to do is to enter the Credential Program within Art (at CSU Northridge or other college which offers it). The bottom of the page at http://www.csun.edu/catalog/academics/art/programs/ba-art/ has the details for CSUN.