<p>I thought I’d add an opinion because I’m an engineer who also holds a separate Art Degree and ending up with two children pursuing art - one studio Art, the other at USC/SCA.</p>
<p>Yes - the return on investment on an art degree in pure monetary terms is not great for many grads. Downright horrid for studio artists. But in my family (which had few means) I brought up to believe education is about the process, not the “end job.” And certainly a person with an Art degree who is saavy can look beyond that art to see where it might apply. For instance, art has an application in industrial design. In advertising. Even in the medical fields.</p>
<p>I think we limit students by telling them that they are defined by their degree and the ubiquitous stereotypes surrounding them. Certainly I did engineering and art simo because I loved math and science, but was immersed in art on my free time and couldn’t choose. Luckily my college said I didn’t have to and allowed me to do both in tandem.</p>
<p>Still - I’m not blind to the fact that engineering “paid” off the loans. But that was then. The world is different now. And it does take a bit of ingenuity to determine how to survive given a set of choices. But there are definitely more options than before.</p>
<p>Is it worth it to take on significant debt? That’s up the each family and the ability of the student to monetize what he/she is learning. Our daughter wanted SCA and we determined if she was accepted we’d find a way to pay for it. And yes - we braced for the sticker shock.</p>
<p>Happy, healthy and fulfilled is a good start - not a degree program or a university you hate for four years but took simply because it will give you employment. The latter is why so many people switch jobs or count the days until retirement when they can do what they love.</p>
<p>So yes - ROI is low for artists - but mostly for those who view art from a limited vantage point. IMHO. I do know that at my older daughter’s school, there is a mandatory class that works through the issues of how to make a living from Art. Perhaps that should be in the mix at USC if it isn’t already.</p>
<p>But I’ll concede, if parents are at risk of losing their future security by taking on massive loans, or have few assets, or can’t handle the monthly payments, then loans probably aren’t a good gamble in this economy. It just depends.</p>