Blog

College: Should an Artist Go?

Last week I had to skip my weekly blog post in favor of completing a rather substantial assignment from my baseline video production class on time. Rather disconcerting, however, was the moment late in the evening of Tuesday when I was putting the finishing touches on my video that would be due in the morning, I received an email from my professor that class is cancelled and the due date would be extended until the next class period five days later (tomorrow, at the time of my writing). Normally I take smug pride in the fact that I can pull-off a pretty nice completed project at the 'last minute'. But this time, the joke was on me.  It was nice to know that it was finished, and I wouldn't have to stress about it anymore, but I still felt somewhat slighted for having to rush and crunch on my so-called four-day weekend.

But this makes for a nice segway into my chosen topic for this week: should you, as an aspiring artist, go to college?

I am still struggling with this question myself. Everyday.

No doubt many of you are already past the point in which you'll be making this decision, but here are my thoughts and insights as someone who has already spent more than two years of his life in college. If you are someone who is confronted with this decision, or is already in college and questioning the decision like me, or even if you are someone who has already either graduated or skipped the whole college experience and is looking for external affirmation for why they made the decision that they did--read on.

DISCLAIMER: major soapbox-standing ahead.

Reasons to Go

Learning

This is the number-one reason, as an artist, that I chose to go to college. Before going to college, I quickly found in my preliminary research that rarely do artists get hired in the professional world because of a degree listed on their résumé. Employers may not even bother looking at your résumé at all. What they really care about is your portfolio. Your portfolio, and your work ethic.

I didn't begin college as a an artist of innate prodigal talent. Whatever measure of skill that I have today is the result of a lot of practice from 'ground zero' that only started flourishing in my first drawing class of my very first semester of college.

Maybe you have raw talent.  The need for an education still applies to you.  Sure, you can pretty much "Google" any information that you could get in a college setting.  But that doesn't mean you will Google it.  The only reason people search for information is because they see the need to do so, for whatever reason.  What you learn in your college courses is a curriculum created by educators for a reason.

Here is an excellent example that I can personally attest to: art history. I can't stand studying history. I find it unfathomably boring. I tell myself, "Why on earth do I need to go through two courses in art history as someone studying illustration for conceptual design in the entertainment industry?"

The answer became more and more apparent as I progressed in my coursework: I learned a lot. I learned a lot about architecture, sculpture, and more that created the distinctive identity of past cultures and civilizations. This is information that will inspire and be infused in my work for the rest of my life.

Learning about things that you may not see as important will make you a far more well-rounded individual, and artist. All of your 'generals' or liberal arts courses will have an unforeseen influence on your creative work. Even math.  ;)

Self-Discovery

This is for many, this is the main reason for going to college in the first place. If you aren't sure what you want to do as a career path, college can be an excellent place to start. But I would caution that this is only taken so far as the reason for being in college. Of you go into college not knowing what career path you want to follow, your immediate duty is finding that out right away. To do this, take a diverse variety of subjects in your first two semesters. Find out what you truly enjoy, and pursue it with vigorous passion. You might change your mind after not too long--I have.

One of the most-asked questions that get thrown at you before and during your college life is "What is your major?" For me, I would initially just answer: "Uh...Art."

After not too-long I started to specify illustration/concept art as my field of study. For my first two years of college, I would generally give this answer while I would take my generals and art electives towards an Associate in Arts degree at a community college with plans of afterwards transferring into a four-year college/university. When the time came to choose a transfer-college, I found myself looking for a college that had affordable tuition that offered a bachelor's degree in illustration...and film production.

That's right, film production. Why? I still answer that question like this: "I just want to get into the entertainment industry." This is my broad goal. My immediate objective is to be a concept artist for a film or video game studio. From there, perhaps move up to an art director position or what have you. I want to work in the entertainment industry because that is what love to do. And that is the primary criteria that I would recommend anyone use when deciding on a career--not money, or job availability. Do what you love. But that's another blog post.

Key point being, college is a great place to discover the specifics of what you love doing, but if you never progress beyond that you may become what some call a "professional student"--someone who is in college for an unduly amount of years, acquiring many degrees, always changing their minds, never moving on.

I would not recommend being that guy/gal. I think that it would be very unfulfilling in the end. Plus, college is really expensive, so unless you're rich--you'd be looking at astronomical debt.  And for what? But I digress.

The Experience

The college experience. Highly coveted and highly glamorized, but also somewhat overrated.  So why am I listing it under reasons to go to college?

I'd call this the "invisible education" or "the invisible hand" (similar, but unrelated to Adam Smith's economic principle) that guides you through that point in your life.

Whatever do I mean? Well, during the typical age that one attends college--those years are the most important years in forming your identity as an adult, as a professional, and as an individual. What you do in college will arguably form you as a person stronger than any point in your life. In my opinion, even more than adolescence.

This includes the people that you choose to associate with (friends, faculty/staff, etc.), the activities that you choose to participate in (sports, student organizations, jobs, volunteer work, etc.), courses you take (as stated earlier) and when you take them, financial decisions, life choices, and much much more.

Choose wisely, but step outside your comfort zone. Take risks, but be smart about it. If you don't like the atmosphere you've created or got attached to--shake things up. Do what is right, no matter how painful.

Networking

College can be an excellent conduit for networking. Most faculty, staff, and administration a college/university are connected with professional resources that could land you an internship, which can lead to an entry-level position, and beyond.

In this way going to college is a sort of "old-boy" network. Sometimes it may be that an instructor knows somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody who might be able to find you an internship, freelance work, or a position within a company.

You never know.

But whether you go to college or not, making yourself visible to potential employers is hugely important. Tap into social media, go to networking parties, and self-promote whenever and wherever possible. And do so with tact.

Reasons Not to Go

Cost

By cost, I'm referring to the costs of time, effort, and monetary expense.

I think everyone knows that college costs a great deal amount of money, and for the average person this requires a mountain of student loan debt. Especially private art schools, which can run well over $30,000 per year for tuition alone--not counting hidden fees (which are many, mind you), living expenses, travelling expenses, textbooks, other supplies, etc.

As jobs in the creative field don't typically pay very well (a huge societal flaw), I would boldly say that the financial costs of college, for an artist, are not worth it. Especially the astronomical rates of a private institution.

It would literally take you a lifetime, as we know it, to pay-off that kind of debt.

As mentioned earlier, employers rarely care about your education in the creative field. Your portfolio and work ethic sell you to clients--not a piece of paper that says you went to college to study art. It is the harsh truth that hurts me and inspires great doubt in me everyday. But it is a reality that you must take into consideration.

College should be way cheaper. It is something that I have advocated for since my very first year (where I was at an 'inexpensive' community college).

The time that college costs you is substantial as well. The average full-time student can acquire a bachelor's degree in 3-4 years' time. That is 3-4 years of either slowed or completely stifled portfolio development, entry-level professional experience, and client-base building. Instead, you might be in class/doing homework most of the time, and working a part-time job that has nothing to do with art in your "free time" and weekends.

That really seems like a waste of time to me.

Hand-in-hand with the time cost is the effort.  Some people treat students like dead-beat bums who have no job and all kinds of free time on their hands.  While this may be true for some, for most--it is a grossly ignorant and ridiculous assumption.

Here is a key difference between a full-time professional in the "real world" and a full-time student in the..."not(?) real world":

• A full-time professional gets paid to work.
• A full-time student pays to work.

Degrees Are Overrated

I have already iterated this point; several times, in fact. But I cannot stress it enough. Most employers DO NOT CARE that an artist has a degree in anything. Would you hire an artist to illustrate an important book cover based solely on the fact that they have a B.A. in Art with little or no portfolio to show (or a bad one)? Probably not. I hope not.

If a typical client were presented with the choice between an artist with multiple prestigious art degrees but a mediocre portfolio and an artist with no college education to speak of but has an excellent portfolio (or merely one superior to the educated artist)--the client will likely choose the latter.

The client wants to know that you can actually do what they want you to do...not how accredited you are.

If you have chosen to go the college route for any of the very good reasons that I have already given, you would be wise to try to build your portfolio and work on self-improvement outside the classroom. Sometimes this means that your grades will suffer.

At the end of the day, the student with a 2.5 GPA and a stellar portfolio is far more accomplished than the straight-A student with a 4.0 GPA and a poor portfolio. You are not doing yourself any favors by doing just what is required of you for coursework.

But then, if grades aren't really important--what is the point of spending your precious time and money at college? Exactly.

The Internet

Today, pretty much any information that you can have instructors cram into your head for thousands of dollars per year is available, free, at your fingertips via the internet. Best invention since the wheel.

Don't know how to draw well, and have nobody to teach you? The internet is your best friend. Don't know the square root of 64? The internet saves the day. Don't know how to start and maintain your own business? Internet to the rescue.

And so on, and so forth.

You get the point though right? Virtually limitless access to humanity's vast and growing accumulation of knowledge is available to you freely with access to the internet.

But here brings us back to the point of just what receiving this information at college does for you. Would you look up the difference between Greek high-classical era artwork and and the later Hellenistic artwork spread by Alexander the Great? How would you even know how to start? Or where? Or why?

Collegiate curriculum is carefully conceived, planned, and executed. It is a big reason why higher education institutions are still an integral part of society in this brave new "information age" that we reside in.

Conclusion

I think that I have made many strong points for artists to either go, and not go to college. Undoubtedly, there is a litany of points for both sides of the argument to be made that I have not listed, but these are the biggest ones from my perspective.

Those are the keywords here: my perspective.

This was a personal rant, so take it for what it is. I have given no accredited sources of my spouting, so if you find anything that I have said difficult to understand or believe--I highly encourage you to do your own research.

For all you know, I could be a crazy guy wearing a foil-hat just ostentatiously sputtering his opinions from a bomb shelter connected to internet via satellite transmission; surrounded by bottled water, pickled goods, and dry munitions boxes.

...yeah.

- Luke