Fine art

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

• Art therapist
• Community arts worker
• Concept artist
• Fine artist
• Illustrator
• Secondary school teacher

Jobs where your degree would be useful include:

• Advertising art director
• Artworker
• Arts administrator
• Ceramics designer
• Commercial art gallery manager
• Conservator
• Exhibition designer
• Glass blower/designer
• Graphic designer
• Interior and spatial designer
• Jewellery designer
• Museum education officer
• Museum/gallery curator
• Museum/gallery exhibitions officer
• Photographer
• Printmaker
• VFX artist

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Work experience

Your portfolio will be important for many creative roles, so continue developing it throughout your degree, adding your strongest and most relevant work as your skills and interests develop. Include examples of your own ideas and creative practice, not just coursework, and look for opportunities to exhibit your work or enter competitions.

Placements, internships, part-time work and volunteering can help you explore different careers and build useful experience. Look for opportunities with:

• arts organisations
• community arts projects
• creative agencies
• design studios
• galleries
• museums
• schools.

You can also develop relevant skills by helping to organise or promote exhibitions and events, supporting workshops, promoting arts activity through social media or working on community projects.

Building a professional network can help when looking for work across the creative industries, so attend exhibitions and events, talk to professionals and stay in touch with people you meet through your course and work experience.

Search for placements and find out more about work experience and internships.

Typical employers

Many fine art graduates develop portfolio careers, combining freelance or creative work with part-time or salaried employment. You may work for:

• art galleries, museums and arts centres
• charities and community arts organisations
• design, advertising and creative agencies
• exhibition and events companies
• local authorities and public-sector organisations
• schools, colleges and universities.

You may also work independently as an artist, illustrator or designer, take on commissions or short-term projects, or work as an artist in residence.

Fine art graduates can also use their creative, communication and project management skills in wider graduate careers.

Find information on employers in creative arts and design and other job sectors.

Skills for your CV

As well as developing creative and practical skills across different media, a fine art degree helps you build a range of transferable skills. These include:

• business and self-promotion skills, particularly if you plan to work freelance or sell your work
• creative thinking and problem solving
• digital skills and confidence using relevant creative technologies
• project management, organisation and time management
• research, observation and critical analysis
• resilience and the ability to respond constructively to feedback
• teamwork and collaboration, alongside the ability to work independently
• visual, written and verbal communication.

Exhibitions, collaborative projects and other practical work can also help you develop skills in presenting your work, meeting deadlines, event organisation and working to a brief.

Further study

Depending on your interests, you may take a Masters in fine art or specialise in an area such as illustration, printmaking or sculpture.

Postgraduate study can also prepare you for related careers. Options include art therapy, art conservation, arts administration or cultural management. Qualifying as a teacher is another route if you want to teach art.

Short courses can help you develop specialist practical or digital skills, such as ceramics, glass, printmaking or metalwork.

If you're considering further study, think about whether it will support your particular career goals before applying.

For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see Masters degrees and search postgraduate courses in fine art.

What do fine art graduates do?

11% of fine art graduates are working as artists. Sales and retail assistants (9%), secondary education teaching professionals (5%), bar staff (4%) and educational support assistants (3%) are also among the top five jobs held by graduates.

For a detailed breakdown of what art and design graduates are doing 15 months after graduation, see What do graduates do?

Graduate Outcomes survey data from HESA.