Do you ever feel like you made a big mistake? my FH has an engineering degree and had no problem getting a really decent job just 2 mos out of college. I feel like I'll end up stuck in some boring office somewhere, not using my education because I have no marketable skills.
I have to actually find out what it's going to say on my diploma, I don't know if it's going to say theatre arts, or the very nebulous 'creative studies'. I mean what does that say to a potential employer? I'm creative? Big whoop.
Of course I'd love to be a director but I don't even know how to do that..and NOW they're making it difficult to be a teacher, depending on what your degrees are in., I just feel like I've wasted a lot of time and money on a dead end, or just to be able to SAY I have a degree, or just as a prereq for grad school. Does anyone else feel this way? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?
tourist
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Re: People with arts/liberal arts degrees
I feel that way all the time. Partially it is becuase I have pretty much equal interest/skill in the arts & more technical things. I always tell DH I shoudl have gone to a trade school & learned plumping or carpentery or soemthing liek that. I have more interest in DH's It job than my own marketing job in publishing.
And other marketing jobs require a business background which I don't have.
My cousin is 17 & looking at colleges. She wants to work in casting or for a talent agency or something like that. It made me think of you. I have no idea how people get into fields like that. I think she needs to study theatre & minor in business, but that is just a guess, and sometimes that is harder to do, because those are usually 2 differnt schools within a University.
MonkeyLuv
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Re: People with arts/liberal arts degrees
A degree is not the definition of the individual. Just like a relationship is not, a career is not, etc.
It is one small facet of the individual. How you reconcile that facet to yourself is another story.
I have a BA in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing and Feminist Theory. My senior thesis was on gender roles in 18th century drama, that doesn't mean I'm confined to a career only involving that topic, or that genre.
Sometimes it's a decision between life of the mind and education as a means to employment.
marymoon
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Re: People with arts/liberal arts degrees
Tourist, I have a friend who wanted to go into the same thing. We had a bout a million clases together because he was a theatre major and a business minor. You can usually have a major and a minor in 2 different schools, that's what he did. I don't really know what he's doing now, but if I find out I'll let you know. I don't know if you really NEED the theatre background for management stuff but I guess it helps.
monkeyluv, I know I should be happy about following my dream and studying something I loved and the WONDERFUL experience I've had in the theatre, but I feel like the REST of my education was so blah...and I just feel like I'm going to be unemployable..but I have to stop talking that way. I have to just FOCUS on getting into the two things I REALLY want to do, which are directing and teaching.
Tourist, I think the behind the scenes aspects of theatre are the most comploicated to get itno, at least from where I stand. For acting, there are always cattle calls, and that's not easy ether, but at least it's some window of opporunity. I really don't know, but I'm going to start having long talks with my advisor about it, since I'm graduating in december. I always thought I'd go to grad school for theatre, but now I'm not sure. i'm not ready to take on 3 more years of school, and if I don't make it in theatre I'll have TWO useless degrees
tourist
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Re: People with arts/liberal arts degrees
Posted by MonkeyLuv
A degree is not the definition of the individual. Just like a relationship is not, a career is not, etc.
It is one small facet of the individual. How you reconcile that facet to yourself is another story.
I have a BA in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing and Feminist Theory. My senior thesis was on gender roles in 18th century drama, that doesn't mean I'm confined to a career only involving that topic, or that genre.
Sometimes it's a decision between life of the mind and education as a means to employment.
Education for education's sake is admirable ( and pretty much what I did), but I am finding ift difficult to find a job without specific training/education. I almost feel like you need both.
My aunt did that. She got her BA in either German literature or speech pathology ( she switched from one to the other, I forget the order) but then went to Katherine Gibbs for more practical training & is now a computer prgrammer.
TwoBugs
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Re: People with arts/liberal arts degrees
Posted by MonkeyLuv
A degree is not the definition of the individual. Just like a relationship is not, a career is not, etc.
This is absolutely true.
My undergraduate degree isn't even 'in' anything, because my college didn't have majors. It hasn't hurt me at all.
I don't think ANY degree is really 'useless'.
tourist
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Re: People with arts/liberal arts degrees
Posted by marymoon
Tourist, I have a friend who wanted to go into the same thing. We had a bout a million clases together because he was a theatre major and a business minor. You can usually have a major and a minor in 2 different schools, that's what he did. I don't really know what he's doing now, but if I find out I'll let you know. I don't know if you really NEED the theatre background for management stuff but I guess it helps.
There is a talent ageny in my building & someone I used to work with went to school with someone that interned there, so I think that is one way to get into the managment aspect. I think with my cousin, even if she didnt' need it, she would study theatre, b/c she enjoys it & acts in community theatre now & works at a theatre camp in the summer. I think she just doesn't see that as being a viable career for her. She isn't the starving artist type--she needs her manicures
Directing I have no idea--it seems like actors always become directors.
marymoon
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Re: People with arts/liberal arts degrees
Yeah. I mean I went to college because I WANTED to, and I wanted to study theatre and I loved it, but now the dust is settling, I did my thesis, I'm going to graduate and I have to figure out the reality of what to do. On one hand fortunately FH makes enough money to keep a roof over both of our heads and pay for food and health insurance. So basically any money I make is for stuff like new cars, vacations, nice furnishings, the wedding, etc etc... So I don't have to worry about getting a job that pays a lot (I was always planning on becoming a teacher)...but on the other hand, maybe that makes me too comfortable..I need to just go for it at some point..but it's like, what do you do?
A lot of arts and lib arts majors, I mean all they really help you to do is get into a grad program of a similar subject. lol
marymoon
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Re: People with arts/liberal arts degrees
Posted by tourist
Directing I have no idea--it seems like actors always become directors.
Yep
ETA Actually everyone I know who is a director was an actor first, but I really have no desire to become a working actor. I loved acting and that's what brought me in, but I foudn out that my real niche is directing... But I was thinking maybe I should audition from soem communit productions, stick with one company, and once I'm established there as an actor (easier said than done..did I mention I'm not a very good actor, imo?), then I can let them know my background is in directing, and see if they'll let me direct of assistant direct. That's what happenned in college. I started with acting classes and acting is shows and doing backstage work, but when I started taking more advanced theatre classes, where we had to critique other peopels scenes and do some sort of directing, both of my professors kind of had this epiphany that I would be a great director, so I assitant directed, then directed and the rest is history
MonkeyLuv
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Re: People with arts/liberal arts degrees
Posted by TwoBugs
Posted by MonkeyLuv
A degree is not the definition of the individual. Just like a relationship is not, a career is not, etc.
This is absolutely true.
My undergraduate degree isn't even 'in' anything, because my college didn't have majors. It hasn't hurt me at all.
I don't think ANY degree is really 'useless'.
WORD! But conversely, I also don't think a degree is necessary! Some of the most successful (both personally and professionally) people I know didn't finish college, and some didn't even go!
A degree is an accomplishment, no more, no less. It is not a meal ticket, it is not validation, it is simply proof of one accomplishment. Impressive, but not definitive.
TwoBugs
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Re: People with arts/liberal arts degrees
Posted by MonkeyLuv
Posted by TwoBugs
Posted by MonkeyLuv
A degree is not the definition of the individual. Just like a relationship is not, a career is not, etc.
This is absolutely true.
My undergraduate degree isn't even 'in' anything, because my college didn't have majors. It hasn't hurt me at all.
I don't think ANY degree is really 'useless'.
WORD! But conversely, I also don't think a degree is necessary! Some of the most successful (both personally and professionally) people I know didn't finish college, and some didn't even go!
A degree is an accomplishment, no more, no less. It is not a meal ticket, it is not validation, it is simply proof of one accomplishment. Impressive, but not definitive.
Thank you for saying this - I agree 1000%! I realized what I wrote might have come off as superior or snooty, but I was too lazy to edit.
tourist
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Re: People with arts/liberal arts degrees
Posted by MonkeyLuv
Posted by TwoBugs
Posted by MonkeyLuv
A degree is not the definition of the individual. Just like a relationship is not, a career is not, etc.
This is absolutely true.
My undergraduate degree isn't even 'in' anything, because my college didn't have majors. It hasn't hurt me at all.
I don't think ANY degree is really 'useless'.
WORD! But conversely, I also don't think a degree is necessary! Some of the most successful (both personally and professionally) people I know didn't finish college, and some didn't even go!
A degree is an accomplishment, no more, no less. It is not a meal ticket, it is not validation, it is simply proof of one accomplishment. Impressive, but not definitive.
some degress are evidence of training though. You can't become an accountant without an accounting degree, a doctor without medical degrees, etc.
marymoon
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Re: People with arts/liberal arts degrees
yep. I mean that's what's hard. my cousins who majored in busines sor accounting all got jobs so easil and they knew exactly what they were qualified for the minute they graduated. My FH got a job right away in computer science. He has a computer science/engineering degree, and that comes with a skill set. What is the implied skill set for a liberal arts degree?
tourist
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Re: People with arts/liberal arts degrees
Posted by marymoon
yep. I mean that's what's hard. my cousins who majored in busines sor accounting all got jobs so easil and they knew exactly what they were qualified for the minute they graduated. My FH got a job right away in computer science. He has a computer science/engineering degree, and that comes with a skill set. What is the implied skill set for a liberal arts degree?
the ability to bs. . . .
marymoon
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Re: People with arts/liberal arts degrees
Posted by tourist
Posted by marymoon
yep. I mean that's what's hard. my cousins who majored in busines sor accounting all got jobs so easil and they knew exactly what they were qualified for the minute they graduated. My FH got a job right away in computer science. He has a computer science/engineering degree, and that comes with a skill set. What is the implied skill set for a liberal arts degree?
the ability to bs. . . .
Very true
All of this being said, i don't think I would have done anything differently...I'm just confiused about where to go from here
tourist
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Re: People with arts/liberal arts degrees
Posted by marymoon
Posted by tourist
Posted by marymoon
yep. I mean that's what's hard. my cousins who majored in busines sor accounting all got jobs so easil and they knew exactly what they were qualified for the minute they graduated. My FH got a job right away in computer science. He has a computer science/engineering degree, and that comes with a skill set. What is the implied skill set for a liberal arts degree?
the ability to bs. . . .
Very true
All of this being said, i don't think I would have done anything differently...I'm just confiused about where to go from here
I think I would have done something differently. Not sure what though. I wasn't very interested in my major ( English Literature) & wasn't very good at it. I considreed switching to to Philosophy ( just because I did well in the require Phil. classes) or Communications, which was my minor.
