For those of you who don't know, I am Jane Labowitch. I'm an alumni who graduated from FHS back in 09, and I most recently graduated from the American Academy of Art in Chicago a little more than a month ago.

For my entire life I've been a student, and now I'm not. Now I have a spiffy new BFA degree in...Illustration. That's fine and dandy, but the only problem is...I've been searching online for a job this last month in art, and it seems the only work out there is for graphic/web designers. I consider myself pretty fortunate though, because I happen to enjoy both of these things. It's kind of a catch 22, though. These jobs want you to already have experience in the field, but how can I get experience if I haven't had a job in the field yet??? Check out this doozy of a job (as quoted directly from my most recent facebook status):

Pay: This is a pro bono (volunteer) position
This is "a 3-5 hour commitment each week over the course of approximately 6 months."
Experience: At least 3 years

This legitimately angers me on multiple levels. For one, this "job" is asking for someone who has extensive experience in the design field to do consistent work for free. For FREE! Ah! Come on! I just dropped over 100k on a degree in art, and there are people out there who have the audacity to ask that I work for free???

On a related note, check out this infographic, designed by renowned designer/illustrator Jessica Hische:

What I like about this infographic is that it clearly defines when it is and when it isn't okay to work for free. As a recent graduate, I really can't afford to just do art for free. I've got some scary government officials that will be knocking on my door in a couple months demanding I start paying my loans back. I've got rent to pay and groceries to buy.

So why is it that people are okay with asking artists to do work for free, where as it's unthinkable to ask, say, a doctor to do work for free? I think it's one of those societal issues, where people think that artists jump for joy at the next opportunity to draw a pretty picture, and no real labor is involved. No one doubts that a doctor has to labor. I think pretty much everyone agrees that med school sounds like a difficult endeavor. But art school? Nah. "Don't you just draw pictures all day?" "Cool, your homework is a painting. I wish I could paint for my homework." Upon graduating, I think I can safely say I pulled the same number of all-nighters as many other students pursuing different degrees. And let me tell you--when you're working on that same piece that you've been working on all last week and it's 4am and it's due at 8am, you better believe it's work!!!

Alas, my lofty rant has run its course. By no means do I want to end this on a negative note--as a recent graduate, I know it's going to be hard to get that first job. It's probably still going to take a while. And though I am in a giant pile of debt, I don't regret my decision to go to art school. Right now I could have some degree in whatever topical employment opportunity is out there floating dollar signs in the air, but at the end of the day I just wanted to create. My bank account weeps for my loss, but I don't think I'll be weeping with it. read more