The myth of the starving artist is one of the most persistent stereotypes facing liberal arts students today. Is there truth to the myth though? A 2017 study including over 150 colleges and universities called the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), found that these days, there really isn’t. According to SNAAP’s results, of the alumni that seek gainful employment, 92% of them find it. Of those that are employed, roughly 65% of them are employed within the arts. SNAAP has continued to survey students every year, updating the results as they get them.
According to SNAAP’s statistics, three out of four students continue to practice art outside of their work.
With that, there’s even more good news for hopeful artists and parents alike. Two thirds of the 13,581 students surveyed in the initial 2017 report say that their first job was a close match to the work they hoped to for post-graduation. There are other benefits too, namely the creativity spurred by undergraduate arts programs. In 2017, a survey of the top ten U.S. companies found that creativity and innovation ranked highly among traits needed by incoming applicants.
While there is plenty of information which defends art majors, there are arguments in support of the starving artist myth too. Namely, that 57% of the alumni surveyed were actively working two or more jobs at once. Though this statistic was from SNAAP’s 2017 report, their most recent report still supports the initial survey. Just because alumni can get a job in the creative field doesn’t mean that job can be their sole form of income. Of the 87,254 students surveyed over the course of SNAAP’s existence, 60% of them have never accepted a job related to art due to better pay opportunities from jobs outside the creative industries. From all of this, it isn’t hard to conclude that some creative jobs just don’t pay as well as some other fields.
Even with these statistics, there is no definitive answer to the ‘myth or not’ concept of the starving artist. For people looking to work in the arts as their main source of income, SNAAP paints an unfortunate picture of struggle and working supplemental jobs. However, for art college hopefuls that simply want to learn more about creating what they’re passionate about, SNAAP has a more optimistic statistic: three out of four students continue to practice art outside of their work, regardless of what they do to pay the bills.
Collegiate studies are a great way to immerse a student in subjects of their choice, inspiring a passion in them that can last a lifetime. Just like any other area of study, there is no guarantee that a degree in the arts will lead to a job, nor is there anything to guarantee the opposite. Studying art, then, should be considered like any other major, boiling down to a single question:
“Is studying art worth the price of forgoing what I learned just to make a living?”
written by Brady George.
