Art degrees are valuable due to the potential salaries students can earn after graduation, as well as the reward of pursuing a career they are passionate about. Art degree salaries vary depending on the field that a student pursues.
Some students who graduate with an art degree decide to start their own business and do freelance work for the clients they acquire. The benefit of a freelance career is that you get to be your own boss and make decisions concerning your business. The salary for freelance work depends on each individual, how many clients they have and how much they charge for artwork.
Other students pursue the traditional career route. In May 2020, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported an annual median salary of $97,270 for art directors. Art directors organize the images and visual style in television and movie productions, magazines, product packaging, and newspapers. Another high-paying career in the art field is industrial design. The BLS reported a median annual salary of $71,640 in 2020 for industrial designers. People in this career hold jobs as manufacturers, architects, engineers and more.
Interior designers determine space requirements inside homes, apartments and other buildings to select furniture and decorative items to make indoor spaces visually appealing and functional. The median annual salary for interior designers was $57,060 in 2020, and the top 10% of these workers earned over $97,920.