Neil Alper and Gregory Wassall, 3 Million Stories Conference, March 9, 2013

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?

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.

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.

AttainmentAnnual 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

AttainmentUnemployment (%) 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

All in Labor Force# in Major% of college grads% of labor force age 20+ All college grads46,476, %31.10% All arts majors4,208, %2.82% Architecture359, %0.24% Language and Drama Education240, %0.16% Art and Music Education288, %0.19% English Language and Literature1,375, %0.92% Composition and Speech74, %0.05% Fine Arts532, %0.36% Drama and Theater Arts196, %0.13% Music351, %0.24% Visual and Performing Arts57, %0.04% Commercial Art and Graphic Design424, %0.28% Film, Video and Photographic Arts122, %0.08% Art History103, %0.07% Studio Arts81, %0.05%

Occupation Number % of Labor Force % with BA Degree All Labor Force Members156,164, %29.8% All NEA Artists2,078, %57.7% Architect185, %88.8% Visual Artist197, %54.6% Designer806, %52.8% Actor52, %47.9% Producers and Directors151, %72.5% Dancers and Choreographers25, %14.9% Musician195, %47.8% Entertainer46, %34.3% Announcer59, %36.1% Writers and Authors198, %82.7% Photographer159, %41.9%

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.

Job description% of total jobs Architect 31.1 Miscellaneous manager 7.9 Designer 7.4 Construction manager 3.8 Drafter 3.0

Job description% of total jobs Designer 30.8 Retail Salesperson 3.9 Visual Artist 3.6 Miscellaneous manager 3.3 Retail Sales Supervisor 2.5

Job description% of total jobs Designer 9.6 Elementary & Middle School Teacher 5.7 Visual Artist 5.4 Postsecondary Teacher 3.9 Miscellaneous manager 3.0

Job description% of total jobs Designer 8.4 Postsecondary Teacher 5.6 Visual Artist 5.4 Elementary & Middle School Teacher 5.3 Retail Salesperson 3.5

Job description% of total jobs Postsecondary Teacher 4.6 Retail Salesperson 4.5 Secretary/Administrative Asst. 4.3 Miscellaneous manager 3.8 Retail Sales Supervisor 3.3

Job description% of total jobs Musician 11.4 Other Teacher 9.4 Postsecondary Teacher 8.1 Elementary & Middle School Teacher 6.2 Preschool & Kindergarten Teacher 3.9

Job description% of total jobs Elementary & Middle School Teacher 28.3 Secondary School Teacher 14.9 Other Teacher 5.1 Postsecondary Teacher 4.3 Musician 4.0

Job description% of total jobs Elementary & Middle School Teacher 4.2 Postsecondary Teacher 4.2 Waiters and Waitresses 4.0 Producers and Directors 3.9 Actors 3.7

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.

MajorAnnual Earnings, 2011$ COLLEGE GRAD AVERAGE $70,059 Architecture $68,197 English Language and Literature $61,820 Art History $55,410 Composition and Rhetoric $51,568 Film, Video and Photographic Arts $50,152 Commercial Art and Graphic Design $48,398 Fine Arts $48,146 Music $47,910 Language and Drama Education $47,886 Drama and Theater Arts $46,188 Art and Music Education $45,849 Visual and Performing Arts $42,301 Studio Arts $39,464

MajorAnnual Earnings, 2011 Economics $103,571 Electrical Engineering $99,180 Biology $96,214 Finance $90,154 Mathematics $83,707 Computer Science $83,213 Accounting $82,620 International Relations $79,180 History $77,198 COLLEGE GRAD AVERAGE $70,059 Architecture (highest) $68,197 Communications Studies $58,804 Sociology $55,608 Studio Arts (lowest) $39,464

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.

Major →→→ Occupation$ Earned in Occupation by everyone $ Earned in Occupation by Majors $ Earned by Majors in Other Occupations $ Earned in Occupation by Other Grads ArchitectureArchitect $68,197 $71,981 $66,490 $54,016 Comp & RhetWriter $50,711 $60,298 $51,123 $53,994 DramaActor, Producer, Director $55,814 $46,307 $46,178 $67,166 MusicMusician $30,588 $39,023 $49,054 $32,397 Art &DesignDesigner $44,791 $49,653 $52,529 $47,839 Film, VideoPhotographer, Camera Operator $34,476 $51,415 $49,970 $42,185

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.

OccupationBA PremiumArts Major Premium MA PremiumDoctoral 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 -$12,729 Producers 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

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.

OccupationBachelor’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***

OccupationBachelor’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***

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