# 110 Why I Think Art Degrees Are a Waste of Time (But Don't Quote Me On It)

In November I am attending an event in Lincoln called 'Careers in the Creative Industry - What Are We Going to Do?' It asks several fundamental questions of creative education and its place in Lincolnshire where I am currently based, namely:

What are the real benefits of a creative education?
Is having a degree enough and can Universities do more?
What are the options and opportunities for careers in the creative industry in Lincolnshire?
How can the wider creative industry in Lincolnshire support students and graduates and also benefit themselves?

There was a time when only academics went to University. English, Maths, Science - all these things required years of study to enable students to go out into world with grades they could essentially use to get teaching jobs or careers in very specific industries such as the medical profession.

And there was a time when all you needed to be good at art was talent, a bit of ambition and essentially, to be in the right place at the right time.

These days you have to be moulded into producing the kind of creative art that your university, college or school would have you produce based on theirs and its tastes, ideals and ultimately its remit. Unless you think on your feet and work your butt off outside of the course, you might be in for a bit of a shock.

Being creative used to be the luck of the few who had talent and they did their art based on their interpretation of the world, drive and ambition. This went for writers, fine artists, illustrators and designers amongst many others.

But in our modern world, apparently you are only as creative as the grades in your final year and your work can be and may be open to interpretation by a previous generation of 'creatives' who may have very different ideas to your own. This is flawed and I'm not just saying this because I came out with disappointing final grades in my degree.

For any student going into these areas (in my particular case - fashion) having ideas and direction of ones own means having to follow one of two lines of learning - to potentially risk getting poor results in the pursuit of your own way of working or to conform to the requirements of the course and probably not produce the work you are truly meant to. Twice I was advised to throw out ideas of my own and do what they wanted to see. But I've been in the industry many years now, how can I bow down like that and still be happy with the outcome? Particularly as I was already running my own business. As anyone who is creative will know, you cannot be told how to be creative. It just is what it is and you are what you are.

Perhaps that means I'm not cut out to be a fashion designer. I'm not sure about that one yet, only time will tell. But the results of my final year did leave me wondering what on earth I was doing.

Essentially the grades are of no use to me - I am already an established business owner with a niche market and I am never short of work. The  thing is that we are already over saturated with students studying creative subjects and there is not enough work to go round in the job market, that's for sure. Towing the line, fitting in, is unlikely to get you noticed. Branching out, being different, could be the only thing that makes you stand out from the crowd whether you got a third or a first in your final degree.

And university life in no way prepares you for the reality of being one of many many people without enough work experience or direction in an over saturated market. You don't have to look very far to find articles which pretty much say the same thing such as this from the Guardian in January.

According to the Office of National Statistics in March 2012 recent graduates are more likely to work in low skill jobs than a decade ago. Of course a cynic might say that encouraging students to attend university has nothing to do with degrees but about keeping youngsters off the dole, thus making Government figures look better than they actually are. It's another remark I hear often. As of March 2012 there were 1.50 million recent graduates looking for work. So what makes you stand out from the crowd? 

The percentage of recent graduates, people who completed a degree or
higher education qualification within the last six years, employed in
lower skilled jobs has increased from around 26.7 per cent
in 2001, or just over one in every four recent graduates, to around
35.9 per cent, or more than one in three recent graduates in the
final quarter of 2011.

Did I need a degree to do the job I'm doing now? Of course not. I went for the experience, because I had skipped Uni in my late teens, self taught myself and got a decent job in the real world to subsidise what were obviously going to be meagre pickings in the media sector. Do I regret it? Perhaps bits of it, such as my expectation that being older, wiser and more experienced would be an advantage. Certain aspects of it have been invaluable but the rest of it left me jaded. Picking up the pieces post Uni was hard at a time when I was finally going out on my own full time. 

Higher skill jobs generally require competence through post-compulsory
education whereas lower skill jobs tend to require competence only
through compulsory education.

Post uni, students find out the hard way just how important getting those first work experience placements are. By then of course, it's too late. No experience, no work - no work, no experience. It's a no win situation. Placements are encouraged, but not enforced on many courses and students easily slip through the placement net and come out with nothing but their education to show to potential employers and it just isn't enough. Even if those grades were high there's a good chance it won't make any difference. Degrees have apparently become easier and easier to obtain firsts in. And the recession hasn't helped. Graduate employment continues to fall year by year despite the grades going up and up.

Creatives should be learning on the job, not learning in a classroom. It was a sad day when YTS and Polytechnics ceased to exist. You cannot round people sufficiently in academic environments if you are a hands on creative. But with employers taking advantage of students desperation for experience and treating them like virtual slaves with long unpaid internships that don't even guarantee work at the end, it is going to take more than a change of attitude to sort this problem out.

# 109 Living Light

Some weeks ago I was watching 'Up In The Air'. In a nutshell it's about a guy named Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) who lives for his work, moving between projects right across America, never settling, living out of a suitcase, keeping things short and sweet. As a result not only was his material life light, so was his list of friends.

Moving around has pretty much done the same thing to me. I pick up with new people when I move into a place and invariably leave them behind when I go purely because of geographical practicalities. I often move long distances.

There is one person in my life apart from family who has always been there. My best friend of 23 years. We've both floated around, moved cities, jobs, friend groups but we've always hooked up again somewhere along the line. And since I moved to Lincoln in 2008 we've lived only an hour apart. We still only manage to see each other a handful of times a year due in part to money, in part to her role as mother of two small children - my godsons. We've always said we were the sisters neither of us had so I guess we are family.

As for the physical stuff, well that's gone through a sudden and unexpected change I wouldn't have dreamed of a few weeks ago. For the last couple of months I've been trying to reduce the amount of physical clutter in my 'Ryan Bingham' back pack. But because I work from home, clutter is the one thing that over rides everything about my existence. But last week I was given an amazing opportunity and in less than 24 hours I move my clothing design business into an artists studio space in the centre of town.

I started to pack yesterday. And I've been quite horrified at how much is leaving the house for pastures new.  The place where I live is, for the first time since I left home, about to become a place to live rather than a place to work. Frankly, I'm sick of the disarray in my home. I yearn for clean surfaces, easy to hoover floors and not having to pick my way through hanging rails and boxes - watching dust gather in the corners at an alarming rate.

And as I've begun sorting through everything, I've realised I do travel light. Most of the furniture in my house belongs to the house. I have possibly enough furniture for two rooms, not enough for a one bedroom apartment (I am proud of this).  I've discovered I don't really own very much of anything. Yay!
 

George Clooney and his metaphorical back pack (source)

Once everything has gone from the house, I am looking forward to turning the space back into somewhere I go when work finishes for the day. My studio will be my office and my full time job and I know it will make me more productive. Being at home will feel like being at home. This is an exciting prospect.

# 108 Standing by your principals

I'm writing this naming no names because it isn't necessary and because it can apply to so many things. But I need to say this because I have been in a particularly frustrating situation over the last few days and it needs getting out of my system.

If you're going to follow a set of principals, a belief or a way of life you can't choose the bits you want from it and then contradict it when it suits you. Especially when you are so dismissive or other people when they don't agree with you. Even worse that you still hold to those principals after contradicting them.

I appreciate that our ideals change as we go through life. Our experiences shape us all. Changing how you see the world and react to it IS expected and actively encouraged. I have changed over the years. I hardly remember feeling as passionate about some things now as I did when I was younger.

But sticking to your beliefs so vehemently and then doing something that totally contradicts them whilst still supporting those beliefs makes me question the validity of a friendship where someone can turn on a sixpence with such ease. Especially when you are doubling back on yourself hoping no one will find out what you've done because you know it's wrong.

I am pleased that I am the type of person who can walk away from this silliness and that I don't feel the need to endure it. Sadly it does mean ditching people every so often but I have reached that point in my life when I'd rather have a few good friends than a bunch of hypocrites. So my friends are now one lighter and I don't feel bad for that.

End of rant.