What Could I Do With My Qualification? Jobs You Might Not Have Explored: Art and Design
Welcome back to another instalment of our GMACS series alternative career guide! Where we aim to introduce you to careers using specific qualifications that you may not have considered before. In the last blog in this series, we focused on the possible career paths you could do with a history qualification.
As you may have guessed from our title, the next topic is *drum roll*…. Art and Design!
What could I do with an Art and Design qualification?
Turns out – a lot! A simple search online will give you a lengthy list of career paths that you can do within art and design. There are many pathways you can pursue; it all depends what type of person you are and what you think you could excel in.
To explore some of the roles in more detail, we’ve whittled the many options down to the following four:
Curator
The role of an art curator is to manage art collections. Normally this role would be done in a museum or a gallery. Art curators decide what art is picked for a collection and acquire the work they’d like to include. They also are responsible for making sure it’s cared for properly and often lead on promoting the exhibition, too.
To get a role as an art curator you would generally study art, art history or something similar at university, or as a degree apprenticeship. You would usually need an undergraduate and postgraduate qualification. There are also level 7 apprenticeships you could do as an alternative to a masters.
Many employers like experience. You could boost your experience by volunteering, doing an internship or working as an assistant.
Art Therapist
This role combines the creative with the caring. Art therapists use their skills to support people who are struggling to express themselves, through artistic practices.
To become an art therapist, you’ll need a degree in the arts. You then must study Art Psychology at postgraduate level. You can also complete an equivalent apprenticeship.
Courses expect their candidates to have had experience working in health and social care. You’d be able to gain this experience, by volunteering or working in a role within the field before applying for a masters.
Set Design
A set designer brings a world to life from a script. This could be in many ways – in theatre, tv, film or an advert. It is your job to physically create the world for the production and make sure that it functions properly for the story.
The routes to become a set designer are varied. You can study Art or a related topic at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Other options are to do a college course, before going on to do on a trainee placement. These could be courses like Production Arts Practice or Art and Design. There are also options to do a level 3 apprenticeships in Scenic Art or Scenic Construction.
You can also work your way up the ladder, by starting out as an assistant or something similar.
Graphic Designer
As a graphic designer, your talents would be used to create visuals for business and organisations. You’d work with clients to understand who they are as a brand and go on to create images like logos or website displays that represent them.
To become a graphic designer, you can either go to university to study Art and Design, Graphic Design or something related. Or you could pick a college course and then go on to get a trainee position.
Just a reminder…
As we mentioned earlier, the routes you can pursue within the world of art can be diverse. We have only mentioned a few in this blog. If you’re eager to find out more about the career opportunities you have in art and design, make sure to do your research. You’d be surprised what’s out there.
If you’re seeking some further support with your journey into the arts, check out Arts Emergency. They’re a mentoring charity and support network for young people making their start in the arts! You can find a link on our GMACS opportunity pages.
Our next instalment in this blog series will be out soon. Make sure you’re following @yourgmacs over on Instagram to make sure you don’t miss any further updates.
