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'Getting Your Foot in the Door' Challenges and Opportunities Facing Artists and Arts Graduates in Non-Arts Jobs. Branching Out Series. Part Three

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Title: 'Getting Your Foot in the Door' Challenges and Opportunities Facing Artists and Arts Graduates in Non-Arts Jobs. Branching Out Series. Part Three
Language: English
Authors: Aisha Motlani, Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (IWERC), Arts Alliance Illinois, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Fine and Applied Arts (FAA), University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts
Source: Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative, Discovery Partners Institute. 2026.
Availability: Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, State of Illinois for Discovery Partners Institute. 200 South Wacker Drive, 20th Floor, Chicago, IL 60304. Tel: 217-766-6779; e-mail: IWERC@mx.uillinois.edu; Web site: https://dpi.uillinois.edu/applied-research/iwerc/
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 24
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Career Choice, Employment Opportunities, Artists, College Graduates, Art Education, Job Skills, Career Change, Barriers, Vocational Adjustment
Geographic Terms: Illinois
Abstract: As tuition costs and college debt rise, students, educators, and workforce stakeholders need to be more cognizant than ever of the need for career-focused training opportunities for artists and arts graduates seeking well paid, secure, and growth-oriented employment opportunities within and beyond the arts. Research has shown that many creatives already work in non-arts jobs (Motlani, 2024a; Wasser and Alper, 2018) and factors such as college debt are more likely to drive arts graduates to work outside their field in the future (Frenette & Dowd, 2020; Paulsen, 2024). The present report seeks to understand the challenges they have faced in securing and maintaining these jobs, and how they have overcome these challenges. This report is the third installment of the Branching Out Series, which uses in-depth interviews and surveys to learn about the pathways and experiences of Illinois artists and arts graduates who are working in fields outside the arts. The first series report examined the push and pull factors prompting creatives to pursue non-arts occupations (Motlani, 2025a). The second report explored the value that creative workers bring to industries outside the arts in light of research that points to the growing importance of creative thinking and other soft skills in the future of work (Motlani, 2025b). Future reports will examine employer perspectives on what these workers bring to the job over and above workers with more "traditional" credentials. The present study asks: (1) What are some of the challenges artists have faced in securing and maintaining non-arts jobs?; and (2) What opportunities or experiences have helped them to overcome these challenges? [This research is funded by the Illinois Creative Workforce Partnership, a collaboration between Discovery Partners Institute, Arts Alliance Illinois, the College of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts at the University of Illinois Chicago.]
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED679319
Database: ERIC
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  Data: 'Getting Your Foot in the Door' Challenges and Opportunities Facing Artists and Arts Graduates in Non-Arts Jobs. Branching Out Series. Part Three
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  Data: Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, State of Illinois for Discovery Partners Institute. 200 South Wacker Drive, 20th Floor, Chicago, IL 60304. Tel: 217-766-6779; e-mail: IWERC@mx.uillinois.edu; Web site: https://dpi.uillinois.edu/applied-research/iwerc/
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  Data: As tuition costs and college debt rise, students, educators, and workforce stakeholders need to be more cognizant than ever of the need for career-focused training opportunities for artists and arts graduates seeking well paid, secure, and growth-oriented employment opportunities within and beyond the arts. Research has shown that many creatives already work in non-arts jobs (Motlani, 2024a; Wasser and Alper, 2018) and factors such as college debt are more likely to drive arts graduates to work outside their field in the future (Frenette & Dowd, 2020; Paulsen, 2024). The present report seeks to understand the challenges they have faced in securing and maintaining these jobs, and how they have overcome these challenges. This report is the third installment of the Branching Out Series, which uses in-depth interviews and surveys to learn about the pathways and experiences of Illinois artists and arts graduates who are working in fields outside the arts. The first series report examined the push and pull factors prompting creatives to pursue non-arts occupations (Motlani, 2025a). The second report explored the value that creative workers bring to industries outside the arts in light of research that points to the growing importance of creative thinking and other soft skills in the future of work (Motlani, 2025b). Future reports will examine employer perspectives on what these workers bring to the job over and above workers with more "traditional" credentials. The present study asks: (1) What are some of the challenges artists have faced in securing and maintaining non-arts jobs?; and (2) What opportunities or experiences have helped them to overcome these challenges? [This research is funded by the Illinois Creative Workforce Partnership, a collaboration between Discovery Partners Institute, Arts Alliance Illinois, the College of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts at the University of Illinois Chicago.]
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