There are thousands of articles and videos about it online, dozens of books about it, in-person seminars and entire websites about it: what jobs you can get with an education or experience in the arts? This advice is generally well-intentioned, and much of it can help people find careers they really connect with. However, the flip side is that many people in the business/corporate world totally miss what it means to explore creative pursuits. This often results in bad career advice for creatives.

In society at large, creativity is seen less as a fluid source of life-giving power and more as a finite pool to be exploited and utilized. Creativity and artistry only matter so far as they advance pragmatic ends. This misunderstanding of creativity doesn’t serve anyone, and leads to a lot of bad advice. If you’re a career counselor working with a creative person, please be mindful of these things when giving advice.

Don’t Assume All Creatives Are Good at the Same Things

It is really common for “graphic designer” or “marketing professional” to be on the list of “good careers for creatives.” From TikTok to Business Insider, it seems to hold that anyone who claims to be “creative” possesses the precise skills to be a graphic designer or marketer.

First of all, that notion devalues the real work and creativity of trained graphic artists. There are many simple templates and technologies available to the Illustrator-challenged (like me!). But, putting together a cute quote in Canva does not a talented, passionate graphic designer make.

Secondly, not every artistic discipline automatically translates to proficiency in another arena of art. A talented ballet dancer is not necessarily going to make a great digital artist, and vice versa. Telling all “creative types” that they should go into graphic design is like telling all engineers they should try to be electrical engineers. Not only may they not have the training, they genuinely may not be interested.

Creatives, like all people, have a vast range of skills and personalities. While one actor may be really outgoing and friendly, therefore suited to a job in sales, another may be an introvert who “leaves it all on the stage” and needs to save their energy by working a more quiet job. There are plenty of jobs that require creativity that are not suited to the skills of every artist or performer.

Change Your Perception of a “Real” Job in the Arts

I will never forget the time I went to the eye doctor just after I’d graduated with an MM. Making small talk, as one does, the optometrist asked me what I did. I told him I was a trained singer and had just graduated with a degree in voice performance.

”So do you want to teach with that?”

First, he had not heard me sing. Second, he didn’t know anything about my performance experience. Third, he knew nothing about my talents or work ethic at all. He just assumed that I wanted to be a teacher. Because what else would I do with my degree?

It’s common for non-artists to assume that all who pursued a education in the arts want to…not be an artist. Society collectively assumes that the only people who are “serious” about their art are somehow already successful. We also assume that if someone isn’t famous, they can’t possibly be supporting themselves with their art alone. Therefore they must have given up and “settled” for teaching or advocacy/admin work. This assumption is one of the biggest sources of bad career advice for creatives.

Three Cheers for Arts Educators

Arts educators are some of the most wonderful, selfless, hardworking people you’ll ever meet. If you had an inspiring teacher in school, there is a VERY good chance they were an English, art, or music teacher. Any creative person who “settles” for teaching their discipline will find out quickly if they feel they’re meant to pursue teaching long-term. It is not for the faint of heart.

If an artistic person you know does want to pursue a career in teaching, therapy, advocacy, or administration, that’s great! But don’t assume that just because a creative isn’t living off ramen on their mom’s couch until they “make it” doesn’t mean they’re not serious about pursuing a performing or artistic career. And on that note…

Creatives May Want to Leverage Other Skills in Their Day Jobs

I often think of a man in Iceland, who lived a relatively quiet existence on a farm in the late 1800s. At that time, silversmithing was not a viable profession in Iceland. Resources in general were so rare that there was very little silver to work, and very few people to buy the end result.

So this man made his living as a farmer. He worked with silver on a “table” that was literally just a board he spread across his lap. He knew it couldn’t be his career; he didn’t want to leave Iceland, and he needed to feed his family, so he operated as what we would consider a hobbyist.

After 40 years of honing his craft, this man’s wife encouraged him to go to Copenhagen and exhibit some of his work at one of the largest competitions for silversmiths in the world. And he won. This quiet farmer quickly gained a reputation for building some of the most beautiful pieces ever seen. Much of his work is now on display in the Icelandic national history museum.

Don’t Confuse Identities

For many creatives, their discipline is a big part of their identity. In modern American society, your work is your identity. Therefore, it’s often hard for people to separate the artist identity from the work identity (though many creatives do not have this problem – Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic outlines this principle beautifully). In a world where you are your work, it’s hard for people to understand the value and respectability of a day job.

Additionally, having a hobby (or really, a non-monetary discipline) is seen as a bad thing. Everything should be leveraged to “up-level” your life. Like making crafts? You should start an Etsy store! Are you a musician? Sell an album on SoundCloud! We have a hard time allowing ourselves (and others!) to pursue an artistic discipline for the joy of it. Many people see your LinkedIn bio first – and who you really are last.

Yes, there are many artistic folks trapped in menial jobs, ready to bolt the second they get their “big break.” But there are many, many people happy to work their day job in manufacturing because it pays them enough to pursue playing in their band at nights and on the weekends. Or people who work as an accountant, because they like it and are good at it, while painting or writing in their free time. Just because one has an artistic skill doesn’t mean they must rely on it entirely or forsake their artistic identity.

Conclusion

There is plenty of good advice out there about ways creative folks can find employment. Don’t buy into the narrative that you are either a “real” artist or you have given up on your dreams. To purposely misquote Tolstoy, if there are as many minds as there are heads, then there are as many ways to live your life as there are people to live them. If career advice seems reductive, or icky, to you, then don’t feel pressured to listen to it! There’s lots of bad career advice for creatives out there! And if you’re a “career professional,” please, for the love of all things holy, stop assuming every creative person can be a graphic designer.