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Why isn’t being an artist a “real job”?

I've worked with a lot of older business people and engineers, and I routinely hear and read complaints about artists, social scientists, art historians, musicians, philosophers, etc. The premise is that Humanities degrees are worthless and a waste of money. But why? Is it not a valuable enterprise to understand humanity, to ask questions, to understand our past, to create beautiful things – not for the sake of profit, but because it's an expression of our humanity. Who are the famous historical figures we remember? Are they shippers and merchants, or are they authors, poets, composers, leaders, philosophers, and scientists? The nature of college, student loans, and cost of living forces a lot of people down a narrow path that they wouldn't pursue if it wasn't financial suicide to do so, and I think that really sucks.


I've worked with a lot of older business people and engineers, and I routinely hear and read complaints about artists, social scientists, art historians, musicians, philosophers, etc. The premise is that Humanities degrees are worthless and a waste of money. But why? Is it not a valuable enterprise to understand humanity, to ask questions, to understand our past, to create beautiful things – not for the sake of profit, but because it's an expression of our humanity.

Who are the famous historical figures we remember? Are they shippers and merchants, or are they authors, poets, composers, leaders, philosophers, and scientists?

The nature of college, student loans, and cost of living forces a lot of people down a narrow path that they wouldn't pursue if it wasn't financial suicide to do so, and I think that really sucks.

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