Basman

Should I pursue an art degree or a dayjob degree?

10 posts in this topic

My life purpose is art related and doesn't have any formal degree requirements, therefor I was considering a degree in something else as a sort of day job. This could reasonably give a lot of security, especially because art can feel like such a precarious field, both financially and especially now with AI. 

But I'm quiet split on this idea. On the one hand, it's kind of a safe bet from a pure survival perspective and which makes parents and councilors alike nod their head in approval (because its so safe), but on the other hand, it takes away time I could be spending really immersing myself and learning my craft, which I'll ultimately need to actually get good at it.

The idea was that a day job degree could act as a kind of linchpin and fail safe, but It's also hard to find something I actually find interesting. One of my main frustrations is that I feel I don't get the time to just focus on my thing. A dayjob degree would be safer but also distract from my life purpose.

The argument against an art degree is that they are objectively terrible return of investments relative to how expensive they can be compared to anything STEM related. I used to think that you can effectively learn everything you need yourself, which is originally why I considered this path, but I recently changed my mind on that a bit. I think art training can be really valuable, but the majority of courses/degrees are expensive, which means I would have to go into debt for it. An art degree can also be very hit and miss and be more about the networking/experience rather than just learning technique compared to workshops/coursers (though I could be wrong about this). 

Sometimes I feel like being creative is kind of a curse. It is such a privilege to be making art. Literally. It would be way easier and more obvious what to do if I was autistic about programming or something. 

Thoughts?

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With finding your LP you want to take small bets. An art degree is a big bet. 

Coudlnt you already create whatever you want to create and learn by doing that?

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Do your passion as a side job. Art degree is like a tutorial. If you want to do it you will do it on your free time. If you end up having to do it for a job then want to do something on the side is completely drains you of your passion.


Sometimes it's the journey itself that teaches/ A lot about the destination not aware of/No matter how far/
How you go/How long it may last/Venture life, burn your dread

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11 hours ago, Jannes said:

With finding your LP you want to take small bets. An art degree is a big bet. 

Coudlnt you already create whatever you want to create and learn by doing that?

Good point. I didn't think of it like that.

 

8 hours ago, Hojo said:

Do your passion as a side job. Art degree is like a tutorial. If you want to do it you will do it on your free time. If you end up having to do it for a job then want to do something on the side is completely drains you of your passion.

Have you had experience with this?

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I would do the art degree if you are sure it's your passion, but at the same time I’d try to get some alternative training with better job prospects. I’m doing a degree aligned with my purpose now at 30 years old, and I’m happier than ever, so you still have time to do a secure degree to ensure your stability and then pursue art. 
 

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I've done it. Not worth it. Art is something you can develop yourself. You dont need a degree for it. The level of skill you possess is self evident by the merit of your art.

 

Hear me well, and get you a degree that guarantees you a job and some kind of financial cushion (bonus points if you're interested in it) and then pursue your more creative goals on the side. You will thank me!

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2 hours ago, Zenterus said:

I've done it. Not worth it. Art is something you can develop yourself. You dont need a degree for it. The level of skill you possess is self evident by the merit of your art.

Hear me well, and get you a degree that guarantees you a job and some kind of financial cushion (bonus points if you're interested in it) and then pursue your more creative goals on the side. You will thank me!

Can you tell me more about your exact experience? I agree that you don't need credentials to be an artist but the training experience can be quiet valuable in of itself. That would be my main motivation. 

On 17/10/2025 at 7:51 AM, Alex4 said:

I would do the art degree if you are sure it's your passion, but at the same time I’d try to get some alternative training with better job prospects. I’m doing a degree aligned with my purpose now at 30 years old, and I’m happier than ever, so you still have time to do a secure degree to ensure your stability and then pursue art. 

I'm pushing 30 and I don't have any kind of degree, so I do feel the urge to just figure out and get going. I am considering something trades because I can't stomach a long academic education unless it is specific to something I want to do, like if I suddenly find out I want to become an doctor. 

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Life has no purpose. What we call life purpose is quite deceptive. The definition of it is, "what you do for the world". There's a "you" element, but the whole point of life purpose is to find alignment so you can do whatever comes to you naturally and not worry about money. But that's it. Life purpose is a loaded word. One's purpose in life is not to "do" something for the world. It's beyond reductive to frame it so. 

The world of art is quite challenging to navigate. I would invest money into enabling the path which would help me pursue more art. To me, it's not a degree, it's more alone time and peace. I find degrees as a social distraction. 

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Recently my views about the world changed drastically regarding what's natural and what's not. It's the realisation that there's no unnatural thing. Everything in this world is a product of the world. 

There are costs though. To be part of anything, there's a lot of energy needed than what the eye meets. It's true for a dayjob and it's true for art as well. The kind of energy sacrifice you'll have to make for doing the dayjob can backfire art aspect. Or you'll hate the dayjob so much you'll go full on into art. 

The cost of art: you "need" to be an obsessed madman to pursue art for art's sake alone. This stage is mostly under-represented by artists, they don't show this side to public.

I recommend reading 48 laws or power, just a summary would suffice. Feigning effortlessness for all the years of hardwork you put in is pretty common in the art community. It's not technically lying, because it really has become second nature at that point. 

What I'm trying to say is, there's nothing wrong with pursuing a dayjob degree. But you should know what you're signing up for and what you're signing away from. 

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5 hours ago, ryoko said:

I recommend reading 48 laws or power, just a summary would suffice. Feigning effortlessness for all the years of hardwork you put in is pretty common in the art community. It's not technically lying, because it really has become second nature at that point. 

What I'm trying to say is, there's nothing wrong with pursuing a dayjob degree. But you should know what you're signing up for and what you're signing away from. 

Thanks for the input. I'll check out the book. 

It's a difficult question for sure. I hope going more in depth with the LP course will help clarify things.

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