What to do with MFA in a small town

[Just me]

Some of you may be familiar with my story of forced schooling. Since it seems I'm stuck in this from start to finish, I guess I would like to ask what I can expect and hope for when I graduate with a master's degree in illustration. Biggest thing is I have no intention or desire to teach at any grade level. Should I leave my degree off future job applications, lest I appear possibly overqualified? What can I do with this? My undergraduate art degree seemed worthless enough, but I'll have another one in a couple years. It might be impressive to brag about, but I seriously do not see it helping me find a job at all.

[psycholinguist]

Some of you may be familiar with my story of forced schooling. Since it seems I'm stuck in this from start to finish, I guess I would like to ask what I can expect and hope for when I graduate with a master's degree in illustration. Biggest thing is I have no intention or desire to teach at any grade level. Should I leave my degree off future job applications, lest I appear possibly overqualified? What can I do with this? My undergraduate art degree seemed worthless enough, but I'll have another one in a couple years. It might be impressive to brag about, but I seriously do not see it helping me find a job at all.

It's time to find a way out. You're being mistreated terribly; I know you've been backed into a tiny little corner and feel completely powerless, but if you keep just relenting and putting up with it, not only is it going to cause the problems you mention here, but along the way you're going to be continue to be controlled and abused as long as possible. The cycle needs to break, and you're the one who can break it! While you're on campus, find a chance to go talk to ANYONE: the campus police, a trusted professor, a counsellor, a religious figure. Give yourself an extra twenty minutes before or after class some day. If you can't get around your mother in order to arrange that, then skip class. I mean it. This is a really serious issue: your mental health and physical health are both at risk here, and this has gone on far too long already. Not one word that your mother tells you about being inadequate and worthless is the slightest bit true, and this is your big chance to get the heck out of there, prove it to yourself, and then prove it to the world. Your life CAN be your own. You CAN choose what you want to do, and establish a life completely apart from your possibly-well-meaning but atrociously misguided mother. All it's going to take is this ONE step. It's frightening enough - and different enough from the routine you're used to, however lousy - that your first response might be to find reasons why it isn't going to be possible. That's okay. It's normal. It's healthy. The trick is to recognise that, consider it all again, and give yourself the one extra little shove that it'll take to change things. You can do it! We're all cheering for you!

[Just me]

The only problem is I haven't much of a way to make that first step. No job, no vehicle, not a cent of money in my checking or savings accounts, no available low-income housing, no one I can stay with whose home will either hold me and my pets or will not be detrimental to my health. Basically, I have nowhere else I could go besides where I am right now. Maybe someday I will have money to pack up and move or be able to afford an apartment (though not likely with my debts), but that day will not be a day in the near future.

But honestly, I would like to reiterate...what can I do with an MFA in illustration when my artistic skill set is mediocre at best? If I was at all good, surely I'd have "made it" by now. I wouldn't get turned down left and right by possible clients. Will a master's degree make me look more impressive to an employer (as in, "You have two degrees, so you are good at seeing something through to the end") or more expensive? ("This person will want too much money, so let's hire a student for an unpaid internship instead.") I have gotten to listen to other folks who have master's degrees in art who are famous, but they also teach because their creative income sucks. How do I do that? What is it I am doing wrong that I can't achieve something similar?

Funny enough, some of the art idols I look up to are all people who were college dropouts who achieved success on their own. I wish that could have been me.

[psycholinguist]

I apologise if I'm coming across as pushy (and it doesn't help that I know absolutely nothing about professional art), but I really am pretty darn concerned about your situation; it sounds very toxic to me. If I were you, I'd look into transition houses and other such things in your area - they support people fleeing from abuse (and provide food, counselling, Internet connections, whatever you need). Even just one phone-call to local law-authorities could give you a good idea of the options! Odds are most of them aren't going to shrug and say there's nothing you can do about it.

In the meantime, does anyone else have any advice as to art-related careers?

[fumblewhat]

I agree with psycholinguist. Toxic is absolutely the right word for it. I didn't have exactly the same situation as an undergraduate, but I was once told by a counselor that the best possible thing I could ever do for myself and wellbeing was move at least 3,000 miles away from my family. And you know what? I did. Highly recommended!

What about finding a short term job that would give you some financial independence and move you away from your family? I'm thinking particularly of Teach for America, Peace Corp, or out-of-country English teaching programs, like JET. (I'm on JET right now and would be happy to answer any questions you might have about it. It would definitely make you completely financially independent.)

Obviously, the application process for all these programs is on the long side, and I think you need a more immediate situation. But they have the advantage of letting you move far away from your family, earn some of your own money, and add to your resume, in addtion to being really great experiences.

As to your question of what to do with an art degree.... My best friend's mother is VP level at a (very large, important) pharmaceutical company, and she has a Master's in Art History. It's a tough job market right now, but if you can find a job that diversifies your resume (instead of limiting it), you could head off in just about whatever direction you please...

Also, read this book. It gives a lot of advice on how to use the education you have to get a job you want, even if it's not in the same field.

Personally, I would use one of the programs I mentioned above as a transitional experience into something new... But that's what I did, so it's what I know to recommend. Sorry I couldn't answer your question more directly! Best of luck to you!!

[Just me]

It's just every single professional artist I have ever spoken to or heard a lecture from has said they HAVE to teach in order to supplement their income enough to live. Like one lady I listened to had a degree in medical illustration and she illustrates children's books now, which is pretty much the single easiest thing for an artist to do. The thing is I don't know if anyone would ever hire me to illustrate a children's book, for many reasons: one, I have a very odd sense of humor and I often draw very naughty, dark, strange or gory things. Two, I have had work published for some not-so-kid-friendly books. Three, I think I would not be able to put my heart and soul into it like some other artists. I have to do storyboards for a children's book for school and I begrudgingly designed characters and backgrounds because the story was so stupid.

Maybe when I'm homeless, I can use my degrees to line my coat or start a fire in a barrel. I think that's true of many people with art degrees. I'm not being a pessimist - just a realist. Maybe I should go to community college and get a practical degree - if I do another undergrad, I might be able to get enough grants again to cover most of the tuition. No job, not independent, mother is divorced, father was a Vietnam veteran, maybe I could fake mental illness (I have been told I might be autistic, so who knows)...I could possibly go to community college for free with grants.

It'd help if I were good at...well...anything. I'm mediocre at everything at best. No one wants an average employee, especially in a creative field. I have already resigned myself to the fact that I will never have the job I want because I don't know what job I want. I hate working, for some reason. So I need to find a job I can deal with. No telemarketing - I was on the brink of having ulcers after doing that for about a month.

[Mal83]

What would happen if you just sucked it up and taught for a little while? I completely get that you hate it, in the Peace Corps I taught English to grades 2-11 for 2 years and I absolutely hated it, but I did it because of the bigger picture. I wanted to be a Peace Corps volunteer for many other reasons and that was the only thing I was "qualified" to do. I put qualified in quotes because I most definitely do not have an education degree, teaching secondary school is kind of the catch all assignment for those who don't have any specific experience in any other area the Peace Corps considers useful like business or agriculture. So if you think about it, if you will be qualified to teach, why not put up with it long enough to earn a few bucks to get yourself out of there and onto something bigger and better? Once you look at something that you hate in a totally different light, as in it can actually help you in some way, you might be able to take comfort in it, feel good about it, and use it to your advantage. Getting a teaching gig with a real and steady income doesn't seem as hopeless as landing that dream job of yours and becoming famous...so seriously, consider teaching for a little while, it might be a way to start your life.