What's the deal with Arts? (1 Viewer)

[sixteencandles]

So I'm always hearing people say stuff like "arts just equals unemployment" and like there is no point in doing it. It's kind of freaking me out because I actually want to do it.

I don't know what I want to do as a career and I thought arts would let me explore areas I'm interested in so I can have some kind of understanding as to what I want to do.

Do you think it's just a waste doing an arts degree? Plus in a workplace situation, would someone that had like a Business degree be considered better than an Arts degree?

Also I'm hoping to go to USYD...

 

[jess_1495]

So I'm always hearing people say stuff like "arts just equals unemployment" and like there is no point in doing it. It's kind of freaking me out because I actually want to do it.

I don't know what I want to do as a career and I thought arts would let me explore areas I'm interested in so I can have some kind of understanding as to what I want to do.

Do you think it's just a waste doing an arts degree? Plus in a workplace situation, would someone that had like a Business degree be considered better than an Arts degree?

Also I'm hoping to go to USYD...

Arts degrees are great if you don't know exactly what you want to do. Its a very general course, so IMO, if you know what you want to do e.g. business, do a business degree. But as your sig states, you are unsure as to what you would like to do, so an Arts degree is great to explore your options and see what you like and dislike.

 

[scenario]

Arts degrees do open your mind. Perhaps you can combine it with commerce/business?

 

[OzKo]

Also if you end up figuring out what you want to do, you can transfer out of the degree (if you can't major in that area with a B. Arts) or you can do a Masters.

 

[-may-cat-]

Don't let the arts bashing get you down, you have to take what you read on these forums with a grain of salt. It's that time of the year where every HSC student and his pet emu all of a sudden become an expert on tertiary education and employment.

 

[Chronost]

Just going to put it out there,one family member finished her B.Arts (media and communication) and it took her 4-5 months to find a job even with a distinction average and related internships(she is definitely an outgoing person, and knows interviews). The job also wasn't particularly relevant to her studies(she hated it), but she managed to land a job 3-4 months later much more related to media. Just be prepared,it definitely doesn't have the kind of job prospects most other degrees have,what people find is that they find it hard to correlate whatever they major in Arts to available grad jobs, which becomes a major source of unemployment,and if employed, irrelevant work. Saying it teaches you skills is pointless as any degree does that to an extent. That said if you don't have much of a clue, then at the end of the day it still is a degree and it still does teach you things that can be put towards employability, just make sure that like any person studying a degree you do things beyond it such as extra-curricular or internships.

 

[moocow920]

I think part of the reason people say stuff like that is because arts doesn't directly lead to a specific job like say nursing, education, medicine, with those degrees there is an obvious job at the end. But as Blue Suede said above, thats ok because arts and the skills you learn are applicable to a wide range of jobs.

Plus, just because you start doing arts doesnt mean you have to stay for 3 years, through your electives or through working and meeting people you will probably gain a clearer idea of what you are interested in doing and you can either transfer to a different degree or choose a suitable major.

 

[sixteencandles]

Thanks! That's been pretty helpful. Out of all the courses any way Arts seems to be the one I'm most interested in, I guess because I like all that humanities type stuff. The career prospects are what I'm probably more concerned about but I still have a longggg time before I actually finish at uni so we'll see how all that turns out

 

[-may-cat-]

Just going to put it out there,one family member finished her B.Arts (media and communication) and it took her 4-5 months to find a job

This is a fairly reasonable period of time to get a graduate position..?

 

[nerdasdasd]

Just don't do a single arts degree ...;

 

[Chronost]

This is a fairly reasonable period of time to get a graduate position..?

She had to settle for something she didn't like, after 3 or so months, almost all the grad jobs have usually hired, so she had to cold-call.

 

[flashyGoldFish]

Arts have some good majors but the majority are going to lead to unemployment,

Rather do a commerce/arts or science/arts

 

[sixteencandles]

If you did commerce/arts, is it mainly commerce based?

 

[uniqueusername]

Also if you end up figuring out what you want to do, you can transfer out of the degree (if you can't major in that area with a B. Arts) or you can do a Masters.

+1.

Also, as some others have said, unless your degree is vocational, it's unlikely that it will lead directly to a specific career path (and even in those vocational degrees, we're seeing graduate jobs are becoming harder and harder to secure - law, architecture etc.)

The reality is, most people don't know what they want to do for the rest of their lives when they're 17/18. Also a reality is that most people undergo a career change (or 2) during their professional working lives. What is important is getting a tertiary education (usual disclaimer being unless you are pursuing a trade). So the next questions should be what do I like? what am I interested in? what uni would I like to go to? are other things important to me like exchange options/locations?

So do what you want to do, but be smart about it and research the specific subjects you might like to do and maybe also think about other options (like a combined arts degree, or doing honours, or following up with another degree or a masters etc) so that you're making an informed decision.

 

[unforlornedhope]

Just going to put it out there,one family member finished her B.Arts (media and communication) and it took her 4-5 months to find a job even with a distinction average and related internships(she is definitely an outgoing person, and knows interviews). The job also wasn't particularly relevant to her studies(she hated it), but she managed to land a job 3-4 months later much more related to media. Just be prepared,it definitely doesn't have the kind of job prospects most other degrees have,what people find is that they find it hard to correlate whatever they major in Arts to available grad jobs, which becomes a major source of unemployment,and if employed, irrelevant work. Saying it teaches you skills is pointless as any degree does that to an extent. That said if you don't have much of a clue, then at the end of the day it still is a degree and it still does teach you things that can be put towards employability, just make sure that like any person studying a degree you do things beyond it such as extra-curricular or internships.

Arts is pretty much useless tbh, only a very small amount of people land on the jobs they desire. I know 2 people who had arts degrees, one did education/arts, ended up being a teacher and told me the arts component of her degree was pretty much useless,and the other one, after doing a straight arts degree, landed on a job as a receptionist- where people who haven't finish uni can also work as a receptionist anyway. So even if you get a job, it's usually one where pretty much anyone can do it.

 

[isildurrrr1]

Arts is pretty much useless tbh, only a very small amount of people land on the jobs they desire. I know 2 people who had arts degrees, one did education/arts, ended up being a teacher and told me the arts component of her degree was pretty much useless,and the other one, after doing a straight arts degree, landed on a job as a receptionist- where people who haven't finish uni can also work as a receptionist anyway. So even if you get a job, it's usually one where pretty much anyone can do it.

Because humanities degrees aren't supposed to land you a job in the field in the first place? If you want to work in most humanities fields you HAVE to get at least a masters/PhD. 80% of people don't work in the field they studied at uni anyway. Graduate positions are extremely hard to come by theses days, might as well apply the old fashion way.

 

[-may-cat-]

I don't like the concept that a degree not instantly providing you will a similarly named job somehow renders it useless. I did an Arts degree and i am now planning (fingers crossed!) on joining the ADF as an intelligence analyst. Some might say that my degree was thus useless. I disagree.

My degree has taught me that i am damn good at research, i am able to analyse source work critically, think laterally and can be highly confident in my own abilities and conclusions. Further, i have knack and love for languages and now know that i thrive on challenge and pressure.

These were things that i did not know about myself before i commenced my degree. Had i not studied my BA, i would have never dreamed that i was capable of working for the ADF, let alone thought that i would excel in that sort of environment. No, my degree did not provide me with a ticket to a job (not that any degree really guarantees this), but i'm totally ok with that. I was imparted with skills that dramatically changed my perception of who i was and what i was capable of.

My experience is of course only one example, but a degree does not need to funnel you straight into a similarly named job in order to be useful.

 

[unforlornedhope]

I don't like the concept that a degree not instantly providing you will a similarly named job somehow renders it useless. I did an Arts degree and i am now planning (fingers crossed!) on joining the ADF as an intelligence analyst. Some might say that my degree was thus useless. I disagree.

My degree has taught me that i am damn good at research, i am able to analyse source work critically, think laterally and can be highly confident in my own abilities and conclusions. Further, i have knack and love for languages and now know that i thrive on challenge and pressure.

These were things that i did not know about myself before i commenced my degree. Had i not studied my BA, i would have never dreamed that i was capable of working for the ADF, let alone thought that i would excel in that sort of environment. No, my degree did not provide me with a ticket to a job (not that any degree really guarantees this), but i'm totally ok with that. I was imparted with skills that dramatically changed my perception of who i was and what i was capable of.

My experience is of course only one example, but a degree does not need to funnel you straight into a similarly named job in order to be useful.

You just happen to be the lucky few who can get somewhere out of an arts degree, however, a majority of those doing arts are not that lucky to find a job after grad or ended up going nowhere with arts.

 

[nerdasdasd]

You just happen to be the lucky few who can get somewhere out of an arts degree, however, a majority of those doing arts are not that lucky to find a job after grad or ended up going nowhere with arts.

Most people are dogging themselves in a hole doing a single arts degree....

 

[RealiseNothing]

Most people are dogging themselves in a hole doing a single arts degree....

interesting