Are Arts And Unemployment Synonymous?

Choosing a career is often a daunting task for students. It often feels like the biggest decision you’ll make--a decision that will determine the course of the rest of your life. Most, if not all, students who want to study any of the Arts and Social Sciences have heard some form of the following: “Oh, so you want to become a teacher?” or “Studying art is a waste of money. You’re going to end up unemployed.” But, in today’s dynamic world where companies look for diversity, does this still hold true? Does studying art still mean years of struggling in hopes of being “discovered”?

Students passionate about the arts have often hesitated when deciding upon universities because they believe that they have to choose between their passion and employment opportunities. They are told that studying Fine Arts will destroy career choices; many are also told that studying social sciences will only lead to a career in academia or field research. Many students lean towards studying popular career-building courses like business or engineering while trying to sustain their "hobbies" in their free time. This is a bad idea as it can lead to over-worked, sleep-deprived, and demotivating student life.

While it's easy to look at role models and inspiring, successful people and study their educational and extracurricular backgrounds, students can also look at past students from a specific course and where they're at now. In fact, students trying to decide on their majors and universities should look at alumni from a particular field of study and see where they work, what they do, and where they went to school.

So, this leads us back to the initial question, what are your career prospects if you study arts or social sciences? As an example, let’s take a look at people who have studied English Language and Literature. Straightaway we see that over 2 million people on LinkedIn have listed English as a subject or area of focus. Students are told that English is a very versatile major that offers many options, but is that true?

In this case, top employers for people with this field of study include many well-known companies such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Accenture, Microsoft, EY, Deloitte, Google and PwC. These people are in diverse roles like media and communication, education, sales and consulting. Some are even entrepreneurs.

By clicking on these companies (Accenture and EY, for example) we can see that these members work in a variety of fields, such as, consulting, IT, accounting, finance and HR. When you scroll down and look at the job titles of these members, you notice many people in specialized and senior roles. This is a very reassuring fact for prospective English Language and Literature students because it highlights that in today’s world, soft-skills and a desire to be multi-faceted mean that you are not boxed into your major. Students can study a subject they’ve always been passionate about without sacrificing career opportunities.

So, that brings us back to our original question, does studying an art subject lead to unemployment? To the joy of many undergraduate and pre-universities around the world, the answer is no.