Fine Art

Fine art courses build up specific practical and creative techniques such as painting, drawing, sculpting and working in a range of media. You will learn how to use different types of equipment and processes from hand tools and welding gear to digitisation.

Over the course of your degree you develop a wide mix of subject-specific and technical skills, you should consider these skills developed on your course as well as through your other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. Think about how these can be used as evidence of your skills and personal attributes. Then you can start to market and sell who you really are, identify what you may be lacking and consider how to improve your profile.

Prospects

According to a 2010 destination survey, around 56% of fine art graduates go into full-time paid work within about six months of leaving the course; this includes those who become self-employed or who take unrelated jobs such as clerical or retail roles. Permanent jobs as a fine artist are very limited. It is estimated that it takes most fine artists five to ten years to become established and to have a practice that makes a viable living.

Finding jobs in this sector is not straightforward. Short-term possibilities such as commissions and residencies are available on a competitive basis and many fine artists produce and market their own work. Those with a fine art degree may apply for mainstream graduate jobs and training too.

Where are the jobs?

You can diversify by taking extra courses in art-related disciplines like graphics, to teach or become a 'portfolio' worker who holds down several jobs to support their creative work.

Short-term engagements are a means of becoming established. Roles include artist in residence, developing art-related activities in schools, hospitals and prisons or bidding for fixed-term funding to carry out a particular project or commission. For an insight into employment areas investigate:

• Creative arts
• Education

Jobs directly related to your degree

• Fine artist
• Community arts worker
• Printmaker
• Secondary school teacher
• Further education lecturer
• Higher education lecturer
• Museum/gallery curator

Jobs where your degree would be useful

• Art therapist
• Arts administrator
• Commercial art gallery manager
• Museum/gallery exhibitions officer

Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it's not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

You can find more about the skills you develop during your course, the jobs listed above, plus case studies and where to find these jobs at Prospects.

Included with the permission of AGCAS. For the latest version of this publication, see www.prospects.ac.uk. For permission to reproduce, contact copyright@agcas.org.uk