92% are working, though many are disappointed with their salary
Graduates of fine arts programs don’t fit the conventional “starving artist” caricature, according to a survey released this week by the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP). Of the 13,581 alumni of American art programs, 92 per cent are currently employed, with 41 per cent presently working as professional artists and 16 per cent having worked as artists in the past. Two thirds of respondents are working in fields related to their area of study, while only three per cent reported working in the food industry. Despite the relatively high level of employment, graduates say they are dissatisfied with their overall salaries, as well as with the job training they received at the their respective schools.