What Do We Know About Arts Majors in the Labor Force?Neil Alper and Gregory Wassall,3 Million Stories Conference,March 9, 2013

What We’ll Talk About• There are a number of “mysteries” regarding what

happens to students who majored in an art form in college after they graduate:• How many arts majors are there?• Do they work in the arts after graduation?• If not, where do they work?• Does their arts major endow them with higher earnings when they

work in their art form?• Does their arts major endow them with higher earnings when they

work in some other job?• We will look at some descriptive data first; then we will

summarize the results of a statistical analysis we are conducting.

• Where does this information come from?

The American Community Survey• It’s an annual survey of the U.S. population, conducted

by the U.S. Census Bureau• It’s completed by 3 million Americans per year• It collects information on demographic, educational, and labor

market characteristics of survey participants• Although it always asked respondents a question about

their educational attainment, in 2009 it began asking everyone with a bachelor’s degree to name their college major. More specifically, they could name up to two majors.

• To have a more reliable sample size, we have combined the ACS microdata samples for 2009, 2010, and 2011.

Some Things the ACS Doesn’t Cover•There is no way of finding out from what type of school or program a respondent graduated.• It asks respondents for only one occupation, based on hours worked.• It doesn’t ask respondents to break out their earnings based on occupation.•Earnings are bottom- and top-coded; extreme earnings are not directly reported.•Graduate (Masters, Doctoral) degree fields are not identified.

Why Go to College? Differences in Earnings by Education, 2009-11ACS

Attainment Annual Earnings (2011$)

College Grad $70,059

Post-Grad Degree $88,677

Bachelor’s Degree Only

$59,680

Some College $34,542

High School Grad $28,837

Less Than High School Grad

$18,567

Why Go to College? Differences in Unemployment by Education, 2009-11 ACS

Attainment Unemployment (%)

College Grad 4.9

Post-Grad Degree 3.7

Bachelor’s Degree Only 5.6

Some College 9.8

High School Grad 12.8

Less Than High School Grad

19.7

How Many College Grads Had an Arts Major?

All in Labor Force # in Major % of college grads % of labor force age 20+All college grads 46,476,747 100.00% 31.10%

All arts majors 4,208,534 9.06% 2.82%

Architecture 359,502 0.77% 0.24%

Language and Drama Education 240,021 0.52% 0.16%

Art and Music Education 288,399 0.62% 0.19%

English Language and Literature 1,375,377 2.96% 0.92%

Composition and Speech 74,731 0.16% 0.05%

Fine Arts 532,382 1.15% 0.36%

Drama and Theater Arts 196,761 0.42% 0.13%

Music 351,528 0.76% 0.24%

Visual and Performing Arts 57,396 0.12% 0.04%

Commercial Art and Graphic Design 424,175 0.91% 0.28%

Film, Video and Photographic Arts 122,481 0.26% 0.08%

Art History 103,837 0.22% 0.07%

Studio Arts 81,944 0.18% 0.05%

How Many Jobs Are There in the Arts?

Occupation Number % of Labor Force % with BA Degree

All Labor Force Members 156,164,382 100.00% 29.8%

All NEA Artists 2,078,120 1.33% 57.7%

Architect 185,336 0.12% 88.8%

Visual Artist 197,101 0.13% 54.6%

Designer 806,025 0.52% 52.8%

Actor 52,092 0.03% 47.9%

Producers and Directors 151,842 0.10% 72.5%

Dancers and Choreographers 25,519 0.02% 14.9%

Musician 195,896 0.13% 47.8%

Entertainer 46,684 0.03% 34.3%

Announcer 59,168 0.04% 36.1%

Writers and Authors 198,767 0.13% 82.7%

Photographer 159,690 0.10% 41.9%

What Do People Do With Arts Degrees?• Some arts majors seem to lead directly to

a specific arts job, like music majors becoming musicians. For other arts majors, such as English Language and Literature, there may be no certain career path.

• How often do arts majors actually work at jobs in the arts?

• The next several slides show the five jobs that selected arts majors are most likely to have.

Architecture Major: Top 5 Jobs

Job description % of total jobs

Architect 31.1Miscellaneous manager 7.9Designer 7.4Construction manager 3.8Drafter 3.0

Commercial Art and Graphic Design Major: Top 5 Jobs

Job description % of total jobs

Designer 30.8Retail Salesperson 3.9Visual Artist 3.6Miscellaneous manager

3.3

Retail Sales Supervisor

2.5

Fine Arts Major: Top 5 Jobs

Job description % of total jobs

Designer 9.6Elementary & Middle School Teacher

5.7

Visual Artist 5.4Postsecondary Teacher 3.9Miscellaneous manager 3.0

Studio Arts Major: Top 5 Jobs

Job description % of total jobs

Designer 8.4Postsecondary Teacher 5.6Visual Artist 5.4Elementary & Middle School Teacher

5.3

Retail Salesperson 3.5

Art History Major: Top 5 Jobs

Job description % of total jobs

Postsecondary Teacher 4.6Retail Salesperson 4.5Secretary/Administrative Asst.

4.3

Miscellaneous manager 3.8Retail Sales Supervisor 3.3

Music Major: Top 5 Jobs

Job description % of total jobs

Musician 11.4Other Teacher 9.4Postsecondary Teacher 8.1Elementary & Middle School Teacher

6.2

Preschool & Kindergarten Teacher

3.9

Art and Music Education Major: Top 5 Jobs

Job description % of total jobs

Elementary & Middle School Teacher

28.3

Secondary School Teacher 14.9Other Teacher 5.1Postsecondary Teacher 4.3Musician 4.0

Drama and Theater Arts Major: Top 5 Jobs

Job description % of total jobs

Elementary & Middle School Teacher

4.2

Postsecondary Teacher 4.2Waiters and Waitresses 4.0Producers and Directors 3.9Actors 3.7

How Successful Are Arts Majors?• Certainly there are other measures than

earnings that determine success in one’s profession.

• Yet we just saw that having a Bachelor’s degree significantly enhances one’s job prospects and lifetime earnings.

• What is less well known is that what one does while in college also has an impact on job prospects and lifetime earnings.

Earnings of Arts MajorsMajor Annual Earnings,

2011$COLLEGE GRAD AVERAGE $70,059Architecture $68,197English Language and Literature

$61,820

Art History $55,410Composition and Rhetoric $51,568Film, Video and Photographic Arts

$50,152

Commercial Art and Graphic Design

$48,398

Fine Arts $48,146Music $47,910Language and Drama Education

$47,886

Drama and Theater Arts $46,188Art and Music Education $45,849Visual and Performing Arts $42,301Studio Arts $39,464

What About Other Majors?Major Annual Earnings,

2011Economics $103,571Electrical Engineering $99,180Biology $96,214Finance $90,154Mathematics $83,707Computer Science $83,213Accounting $82,620International Relations $79,180History $77,198COLLEGE GRAD AVERAGE

$70,059

Architecture (highest) $68,197Communications Studies

$58,804

Sociology $55,608Studio Arts (lowest) $39,464

Does Having Specific Arts Training Improve Job Market Outcomes?• Some questions not yet addressed:• Do arts majors earn more working in their art form than

others do?• Do arts majors earn more working in jobs outside the

profession they trained for?• Can non-arts majors successfully penetrate arts

professions?• In the next slide, we examine these questions by

selecting only those arts majors who have an obvious occupation for which they are training (architecture-architect, music-musician, e.g.).

• After this, we address these questions more generally.

Earnings by Major Based on Occupation

Major→→→

Occupation $ Earned in Occupation by everyone

$ Earned in Occupation by Majors

$ Earned by Majors in Other Occupations

$ Earned in Occupation by Other Grads

Architecture

Architect $68,197 $71,981 $66,490 $54,016

Comp & Rhet

Writer $50,711 $60,298 $51,123 $53,994

Drama Actor, Producer, Director

$55,814 $46,307 $46,178 $67,166

Music Musician $30,588 $39,023 $49,054 $32,397Art &Design

Designer $44,791 $49,653 $52,529 $47,839

Film, Video Photographer, Camera Operator

$34,476 $51,415 $49,970 $42,185

Arts Majors and Arts Jobs• In the next table, using regression analysis, we estimate

the “premium” in annual earnings that college graduates get when working in each of nine arts occupations.

• We do this by regressing annual earnings on a variety of personal attributes that affect earnings, such as age, gender, race, marital status, industry, for-profit/non-profit business and of course education.

• In the next table we show the extra earnings that one receives in each arts occupation for having completed an additional degree.

• We also estimate the additional premium that any arts major receives when working in these arts occupations.

Arts Major Premiums in Artistic Occupations

Occupation BA Premium

Arts Major Premium

MA Premium

Doctoral Premium

Architect $9,523***

$1,044 $14,576***

$21,223***

Visual Artist $7,818***

$2,417* $10,647***

$5,423

Designer $10,601***

-$2,525***

$17,328***

$25,115***

Actor -$3,869 $6,041 -$4,086 -$12,729Producers and Directors

$12,634***

-$4,220 $11,969***

$28,874***

Dancers and Choreographers

-$1,605 $6,079 -$1,021 -$24,045

Musician $2,695* $1,772 $3,405** $2,922

Writers and Authors $6,475***

$4,479***

$5,653***

$12,849***

Photographer $3,359***

$6,929***

$3,417 -$5,694

Arts Majors and Non-Arts Jobs• In the tables that follow, using regression analysis,

we estimate the earnings premium that college graduates get when working in each of 13 professional and 12 production and service (non-arts) occupational groupings.

• In the aggregate, these groupings contain almost all non-arts jobs.

• Then, we estimate the additional premium that any arts major receives when working in the same occupations.

Arts Major Premiums in Professional Occupations

Occupation Bachelor’s Premium

Arts Major Premium

Master’s Premium

Doctoral Premium

Managers $25,571***

-$10,239*** $47,617*** $68,790***

Bus. Op. Specialists

$15,881***

-$5,887*** $35,738*** $48,469***

Financial Specialists

$14,979***

-$3,096 $35,796*** $47,537***

Comp/Math Specialists

$7,933***

-$3,732*** $19,403*** $31,169***

Engineers $12,063***

-$7,412*** $24,138*** $35,794***

Natural Scientists $7,330***

-$5,381 $18,541*** $39,794***

Social Scientists $12,341***

-$7,584** $18,309*** $37,178***

Science Technicians

$4,717***

-$1,143 $11,195*** $31,059***

Social Work $6,032***

-$1,458** $13,605*** $17,424***

Legal $16,861***

-$3,714 $35,283*** $74,010***

Education $8,535***

-$2,120*** $18,380*** $39,075***

Physicians $20,304**

-$6,177 -$14,991** $20,305***

Other Health Care $12,283***

-$2,669 $15,538*** $27,516***

Nursing $844* -$5,134*** $16,238*** $13,991***

Arts Major Premium in Production and Service Occupations

Occupation Bachelor’s Premium

Arts Major Premium

Master’s Premium

Doctoral Premium

Medical Technicians

$7,211***

-$1,781 $14,840***

$25,311***

Other Health Care

$1,201***

-$1,183 $11,814***

$34,561***

Protective Services

$11,332***

-$5,639***

$22,468***

$25,527***

Food Services $5,028***

-$104 $7,419***

$4,842***

Cleaning Services

$5,666***

-$2,253**

$6,468***

$4,527***

Personal Care $4,936***

$134 $6,771***

$10,844***

Sales $16,250***

-$9,127***

$34,401***

$38,425***

Clerical $6,963***

-$4,238***

$17,171***

$21,931***

Construction $7,849***

-$3,915***

$10,841***

$8,824***

Inst., Maint., Repair

$4,484***

-$2,370* $11,569***

$13,557***

Prodn. Operators $6,543***

-$4,055***

$20,087***

$25,734***

Transp. Operators

$12,617***

-$7,421***

$18,434***

$11,387***

Thoughts, Comments…• What do these observations imply about • Arts education?• Careers in the arts?• Public policy toward artists?• Being an artist?