Americans now owe more than $1 trillion in student loan debt,

I graduated with a BS and MS with $60k in debt going to a public school; however, I also made the choice to live on campus instead of commuting 30+ minutes from home and that drastically increased things. I personally think it was worth it. I'm starting out in public accounting making $45k a year, which is good for my area.

What positions are available coming out of art school? I know many people who work at Apple and Starbucks. lol.

Careers range from wedding and event photographer, the film industry: director, set design,custom design, video game design, industrial design (Bissell and others sponsored a projects every year at our school), furniture design (my college was ranked high in this field with practically a 100% job placement rate for graduates), graphic design, web diesign to the stereotyped museum or gallery curator, art buyer, or freelance painter and sculptor (which I have a friend that does very well with commissioned sculptures).

Look how much a professional wedding photographer charges. I heard David Ziser [blogspot.com] mention one of his wedding gigs coming in at $20,000. There is money to be had in art. I think the issue arises that many people flock to art school as an "easy way out" of a real job. If these same people went for a business degree, they would be the MiIltons [youtu.be] of your office space. It does not matter where you are at if you do not have the drive or mind set to succeed.

I will take that brillant comment as a compliment. Thank you.

True, you can do photography and painting as a hobby. But, with a hobby you still have a day job. When researching a college track, a lot of people I talk to did not have careers in the field that they studied. I decided that college was a great time to do something that interested me full time. All art and no real job, demanding bills or family commitments to worry about.

I was not totally naive. I did not plan on having to have a "big break" or be "discovered." I took classes that would help me in a career as well. My plan was to take calculus at the Community college, yet never got around to it. I ended up taking the laughable, "Math in Art" class my senior year.

I appreciate your comments on keeping the arts alive.

Your point on entrepreneurship holds true. How many college drop outs do you read about leading facebook, Microsoft or Apple?

Currently, my profession is web design and development at a non-profit. Even within my field, I could be making 10-15% more at a "for-profit" agency or much more leading my own firm. Right now, I find the projects I work on rewarding and it worthwhile investing in the organization's mission.

If we end up having a third child, I will most likely choose a position with a higher salary.

Hope this clears up your questions.

$45k with a Masters? That seems low.

That's the going rate for public accounting in low cost areas. Had I gone to NYC, I would have started at around $65k. They start us out low, but we quickly move up the pay scale. In fact, my firm pays more than at least 2 of the Big 4 around here.

Thanks for the reply.

You stated your friend was a sculptor. Was it his arts degree that really helped him succeed? Or was it that he finally had proper marketing/networking combined with his innate talent that really helped him succeed financially?

I completely overlooked design (games/graphics/industrial/etc.) Obviously that is a good path to go. I'd still worry about that requiring a "big break" to gain that repuation though. I don't know how much they can make either.

I'm not sure if creating great art can truly be taught though. Similar to entrepreneurship. As for keeping the subjects alive, that is obviously a valid way to go.

I don't think movie directing, wedding photography are good examples. It's another example where you don't need a college degree, let alone an arts degree. When selecting a wedding photographer, if one has a college degree in arts (photography - does that exist?) but some amateur, at a lower cost, comes in with a better track record and actual samples from real weddings. I'd be more likely to go with the one who is experienced and can prove themselves. I know of some great wedding photographers who actually started out as a weekend hobby for extra cash and it ultimately led to a full-time business for them.

Anyways, thanks for replying. Learned some new things.

Almost nostril sprayed my keyboard.

What phrases? I use trader terms to see if anyone catches on sometimes. Other times, I just pull it out of my ass.

It's not like I wrote the article...

If you graduated with a Physical Education degree yep, but a solid Accounting, Business Admin, Finance, Engineering degree working for a good company I'd say it's very conservative. My lil bro graduated 6 years ago and started at $60k working for one of the Big 4 consulting companies.

Hell, I graduated 15-20 years ago and my first year I think I made $40k straight out of undergrad at one of the Big 6. (seems to be even better now - http://managementconsulted.com/su...-partner/#)

A new police officer out here makes $50k-$60k (excluding OT which is where they can make the real $$).

http://agency.governmentjobs.com/...bID=330331

Even a recruit at the academy makes $42k-$50k

http://agency.governmentjobs.com/...bID=341264

I don't think movie directing, wedding photography are good examples. It's another example where you don't need a college degree, let alone an arts degree. When selecting a wedding photographer, if one has a college degree in arts (photography - does that exist?) but some amateur, at a lower cost, comes in with a better track record and actual samples from real weddings. I'd be more likely to go with the one who is experienced and can prove themselves.

School costs so much because like most big ticket items, we are insulated from the true price of the product. Big ticket items are given to us incrementally. When you buy a car, it isn't $35k, it is "$400/month". A new TV is "24 months no payments, no interest".

IMO. I think part of the reason for the rise in college tuition is the fact the government subsidizes student loans.