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Artistic backgrounds becoming more desirable than business backgrounds

Most SCAD students have probably heard discouraging comments from their friends and relatives such as: “Art school?!” “What are you going to do when you get out?” “Are you going to be able to get a job when you graduate?” What’s worse is some students may actually believe these negative sentiments.

That simply isn’t the case, according to writer Dan Pink. He said that he believes those with artistic backgrounds will have an advantage over their business world counterparts.

“Soon those seeking art degrees will be seen as making a wise, shrewd, hard-nosed decision. I have three children. When they go off to college, I would rather see them pursue MFAs than MBAs,” said Pink.

A piece he wrote in Feb. 2004 issue of the Harvard Business Review pioneered the concept of the MFA becoming more valuable than a MBA. Pink wrote a book, A Whole New World, to be released March 24, about the career fields of the future.

Pink’s research for a Whole New World didn’t come from just one source. He said he “created a mosaic” of how the western world is shifting from many different articles and interviews.

Pink’s writing has been published in Wired, Harvard Business Review, NY Times, Fast Company and many other publications. His bestselling book, Free Agent Nation, is also being used in various MBA curricula. He has also worked as a speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore and advised numerous start-up and Fortune 100 companies.

The Conceptual Age

According to Pink, in the 1700s our economy shifted from agricultural to industrial. Within the past century, the American economy has moved from technological to information and now we are moving into what Pink calls “the Conceptual Age.”

The shift in the business world parallels the shift in the art world towards desiring more conceptual work. Just as in the art world concepts are just as important as the appearance (if not more so), thoughts, ideas and emotions are becoming the driving forces of the business world.

The American economy is going through another change towards putting more value on creativity than on knowledge-based workers, according to Pink. He said that careers likely to be more valued now and in the future are those that “can’t be done by foreigners cheaper or automated by computers.” He suspects that occupations such as accounting, computer programming and engineering will go the way that factory work did 20 years ago. They will still exist, but not nearly to the extent that they do now.

While according to Pink, the US will still have a service economy, the difference will be what services are provided. Pink said art, leisure, design, entertainment and counseling are likely to be the type of services provided by American workers.

These career fields that are likely to be more in demand are those that “computers can’t do faster and foreigners can’t do cheaper.” Just as manufacturing jobs moved overseas because it was cheaper to do so, now white collar jobs, such as accounting and computer programming are being outsourced. The rate of pay for Americans as opposed to emerging countries is drastically higher. For example, while programmers in the US could make a $75K yearly salary, their counterparts in India could be paid $12K a year.

The issue of technology taking away jobs will continue to be a problem. While these jobs will not disappear altogether, the amount of people needed to perform these tasks will drastically reduce as computers can allow one person to do the job of what used to take many.

Because many fields are dwindling due to outsourcing and automation, the business world is focusing less on left-brain qualities, like number-crunching, than right-brain attributes. Right brain qualities are those that come easily to artists, such as thinking holistically, emotionally and innovatively.

“Design is an approach to the world that is more artistic, innovative and memorable,” said Pink.

With society’s desire for things such as designer toilet brushes, it’s only natural that careers such as designers would be more in demand. It is no longer enough to just create function to prosper in today’s world, according to Pink.

Education

“Art school is better for equipping for the economy that is emerging,” said Pink. “Graphic design, industrial design, even the fine arts, it doesn’t matter what medium you use; it’s about the broader array of abilities.”

Terminal degrees are becoming less important. “It matters less what words are written or even if having a piece of parchment,” said Pink.

Many MBA programs are changing to keep with what the business world desires. It used to be laughable for MBA programs to include coursework on subjects such as design and philosophy. Now, these same programs must include these subjects in order for their graduates to stay competitive.

Director of Career Planning and Placement, Pat Helbig, who holds a MBA, said Pink’s ideas aren’t completely new concepts. When she was in school, she was encouraged to pursue her undergraduate work in humanities or liberal arts and then go for a MBA.

Many of the qualities business schools are trying to install in their students are naturally inherent in artistic types. For example, through coursework on spirituality, value and meaning, many schools are trying to get their students to “contemplate why they’re here. Artists are inclined to do this anyways,” said Pink.

“Don’t go to school to be employable. School is not only vocational. Expand your mind,” said Pink.

Art students are more likely to pursue their education simply because they are interested in the subject. Artists genuinely enjoy what they do. They aren’t motivated by money as much as the desire to do what they like.

First year sequential art student Del Borovic said, “I’ve always done art. I wanted to pursue and study art.”

Liz Robertson, who graduated in 2004 with a BFA in illustration, said, “I always wanted to be an artist.”

Although art students they don’t tend to study subjects they don’t like simply to improve their career options, career prospects after college are still a concern.

Jamar Gooch, second year sequential art student said, “I wanted to learn more about comic books. I want to learn comics for a living.”

Robertson said that she is currently working as a bank teller. “SCAD taught me about the field of illustration, but didn’t really help me career wise. I freelance on my own.”

Spreading the concept

Since Pink’s original article was published, numerous other articles on the same concept have been published in business trade periodicals such as Fortune and Wired. Graphic design journal, HOW, also had an interview with Pink in their last issue.

Very few SCAD students read business magazines and journals. Borovic laughed when asked about the subject.

Helbig said she read Pink’s Harvard Business Review article when it was first published and has been waiting for the idea to be discussed in art and art-education related publications. She said she hasn’t seen any mention of the concept in these types of magazines and trade journals.

According to Helbig, one possible reason this concept hasn’t been included in many publications that those in the art field would tend to read is that those in business may believe that because art school graduates don’t realize how valuable they are, businesses can pay them much less than they are really worth.

Pink’s ideas are gaining recognition among the movers and shakers of the business world, according to Helbig, but haven’t trickled down to recruiters yet. She said she hasn’t heard any mention of art school graduates being favored over business school graduates from companies that have come to visit SCAD. She said she hasn’t noticed a change in the types of positions or the types of companies seeking employees.

Helbig doesn’t want SCAD graduates to be underpaid; she wants to empower students with the knowledge of how valuable their talents are. She is in discussions with Pink to have him visit SCAD in the spring to let students know about the opportunities awaiting them.