What good will it do?

Question

I'm thinking about college and I can't make myself do anything I don't want to do. About the only thing that sounds appealing to me is Art Education. But art teachers don't make all that much do they? In salary it's 30,000-40,000...right?

Answer 1

If you want to do that then I would pursue it, a specialty in any field instead of a general degree (like Education) seems to be a good idea these days. Just remember to keep your grades up in case you decide to go to grad school some day, that helps a lot of people earn more.

Answer 2

It might help if you think of college as a place to find out what you like, as opposed to a place where you have to know what you want to be going in. Yes, many people have clear ideas about what they want to study, but even a good percentage of them change majors once they get a feel for who they are outside of mom & dad's house.

It sounds like you have some interest in art. That probably also means you enjoy trying different things. As an artist it might be pencils, pen and ink, chalk, conte crayons, pastels, watercolors or oil-based paint. It can be the same way in college. Everybody is required to take some core classes like composition and PE during their first couple of years. After that you begin to focus more on the classes in your major. While teaching art may sound like the lesser of all evils now, something else may pop up over the next two years that you find far more invigorating.

I started out wanting to study Architecture. My electives centered around that curriculum to start, but after three years of classes I realized I wasn't going to make it through the math requirements. I had to choose a different major, but didn't know which way to go because I had found a variety of things I was also interested in. I decided to take classes in all my interests for one semester, then decide which suited me best. That meant Photography, Creative Writing, Geology, Sociology and Introduction to Music! (OK, that last one was a lark.) I enjoyed all the classes and missed straight As by one grade. I ended up choosing Photography and graduating a year and a half later.

So, like me, knowing what you want to do with your life at age 22 can be much different than thinking you know at 18. Even though they ask you to choose a major right from the start, college is designed to give you time to try different things. I would suggest you start out as an art education major and see where things go from there.

One final thought: while pulling in a high salary is nice, you'd be much happier doing what you enjoy versus doing something that (potentially) pays more. If you don't like what you do day in and day out, all the money in the world won't make you happy.

Good luck!

Answer 3

If it's what you love, who cares what it pays.