For Arts Majors, How To Get Ahead

For Arts Majors, How To Get Ahead For Arts Majors, How To Get Ahead Let me guess: When you first told  mom and dad you want to major in (insert your arts major here: English/theater/visual art), it didn’t go well. Ive been there. Not only have I been there, my dad didn’t actually know I was majoring in theater until my college graduation. (I actually double majored-but he only ever knew about the literature major. Surprise! Please don’t kill me.) Lets be real: Maybe  you’re also wondering a little if you’ve lost your mind, wanting to  major in something so supposedly impractical.  Im here to calm you (and your mom and dad) down. Being an arts major isnt an automatic ticket to chronic unemployment I graduated eleven years ago and every year since then my tax forms have said stage manager (except one year when I was a production manager) and I have always managed to pay all my bills. But I am in the minority among my college classmatesof about 30 of us, only 10 or so work full time in the arts. The majority of the successful ones have technical theater degrees and have gone on to work as stagehands or at theatrical equipment supply companies. We have a few technical directors, a designer, and an actor as well. Bigger buteveryone I graduated with works full time and regularly uses the skills they learned in college. Quite a few classmates with performance degrees have gone on to become high school drama teachers. Another very common career path is into real estate. One classmate opened his own dance studio, which is actually a quite  lucrative career path. (Remind your parents how much they paid for your recital fees alone.) Youre going to need drive and determination From watching all of us though, I’ve also learned a few key lessons. The folks who still work in the arts wanted it. The folks who left would approach  auditions and job opportunities like they would come to them, which is madness. Most of us who still work in the arts spent the first few years making very little and working really long hours. Almost all of us had solid backup plans. I used to substitute teach to make ends meet between gigs. I also had a bigger backup plan to go back to school for a year and get a teaching certificate to go with that literature degree if things didn’t pan out. Those  who failed the worst in their professional foray into the arts had no other plans and, when everything fell apart, had to start from scratch before figuring out new plans like working in real estate or going back to school for a business degree. If youre considering a major in the artswhether music, theater, or paintingheres what I suggest you do before you graduate: Double major in something practical Education, business, computers.  And hope you never have to use it. While it might be added work (or even expense), it’s much easier  to take a few extra classes while you’re already in school than to have to go back and start over from scratch. Keep your student loans as low as possible Being debt free will allow you to take some low-paying, connection-making jobs. The kind that turn into better-paying, career-making jobs. The saddest situation is to be an arts major with a six-figure student loan debt and be forced into a job you dont like that probably wont pay the bills anyway because you didnt get the right degree. If its not too late, try to avoid that. Develop a  solid survival job while you’re still in school Survival jobs need to be flexible with hours you can set yourself. Some common ones are freelance writing, babysitting or nannying, and substitute teaching. (And, hey, if you double-majored in accounting, you can make your own hours doing some of that on the side.) Don’t be afraid to travel Touring jobs, cruise ship jobs, and theme park jobs are all solid resume credits at the beginning of your careerespecially if you do graduate with debt. Your living expenses will be covered and you can pay off those loans much faster. Summary Don’t listen to the haters! It’s hard to make it in the arts, but its not impossible. You probably chose your path knowing that its financially difficult, but hard work and common sense can make it financially possible. Read more: 7 Side Gigs That Pay Well And Let You Set Your Own Hoursbbrbdeyvtxreyydxqxawcsqsrfxazzwrure How To Make Good Money Working In Theater