art degrees aren't as unemployable as people think. A lot go into teaching art or doing design for different things. A fuck ton of murals, paintings, statues, etc are commissioned daily around the world.
I'm guessing you're unfamiliar with animation, video games, photography, tattoos, sculpture, almost all forms of advertisement, and art galleries in general. Art is a fairly broad spectrum and it's gotten to the point where it's in almost every aspect of our lives. Not to mention people enjoy art. It can be relaxing/enriching for a lot of them, regardless of whether they turn it into a career. Bob Ross taught art, and I don't think anyone faults him for doing so. Most of these people probably won't have careers revolving entirely around art. But the same could be said for probably 97% of kids who try out for sports, or musicians. A lot of people who study business will never go on to own one, many who study psychology won't become psychologists. I've known at *least* 6 people who went to school for engineering. None of them are engineers
I imagine art is among the easiest of the subjects for people to needle, and so they do. And yet History, and English, culinary science and software programming. All of them often end up with the same results: some of the kids will make it, most simply won't. Hopefully at the end of the day they all just get *something* beneficial out of it
There is more to an art degree than painting. You need it for things like to become a graphic designer and a cartoonist and a graphic novel artist and so many more jobs. They don't just hire some person off the streets who draw pretty pictures. Every Pixar artist went to art school that is where the running gag of A113 comes from it is the classroom number they took in art school.
There is more jobs for people with art degrees this there ever was before.
i do graphic arts and manufacture, no degree in art, animation i'm familiar with also, a friend does it, special effects also for movies as well, no art degree with him. i'm sure there are many jobs, but this, as i said,, is too many for so few jobs available. and i'm aware that most that get degrees, don't usually get the job they studied for, last week, there's a lady on the radio here, degree in "dance", is now working as an executive in a government health and employment service branch, i can guess what she was shaking to get the job
There is more jobs for people with art degrees this there ever was before.