Career opportunities with a 2 year degree?

[MidnightKat]

I am in the middle of a career change; however, I am still deciding on what direction to take. At the moment I am pondering photography - although I am somewhat new to the field. What I would like to know is what I could I expect to find in terms of work with an associates degree in photography. For those who have gone though a 2 year program, how have you fared in the job market? What work do you primarily end up doing, does it pay the bills? Would you suggest someone pursue this as a career?

 

[GerryDavid]

Photography can be very profitable or very financially draining. It depends on your business skills, photography skills, demographic, and field you are working in.

College degree in photography may help or may not. business classes are probably better and assisting an established pro and learning stuff first hand is probably more efficient.

 

[KmH]

Few staff photographer jobs exist any more, and with the flood of images on the Internet staff jobs will continue to disappear.

Many of those that used to have staff jobs went freelance, and discovered they lacked sufficient business acumen to make a go of it.

The retail photography business is flooded with amateurs that don't really know how to run/market/promote a business, or do professional quality photography. Consequently there is a huge amount of 'churn' with retail photography businesses starting up and then in a short time disappearing.

Commercial photography opportunities have also has been reduced by the advent of the Internet, which is why outfits like Getty Images got tied in with online photo sharing web sites like Flickr.
Why pay a qualified profesional photographer to make images, when it's so much cheaper to pay someone to cruse Flickr and find accidental amateur made shots that can be used, and gotten for free. "OMG, someone wants to use one of my pics!"

With all that, anyone that is a self-starter, has drive, and is motivated to make their own way in the world can indeed make photography a career.

Profitable Photography in Digital Age: Strategies for Success

 

[manaheim]

^ that.

The morale of the story is get a degree in business and learn photography at the same time. The degree in photography probably won't get you too far in a field polluted by people with and without degrees... but a degree in business is useful anywhere, including the field of photography.

 

[Erica.]

I like the advice that has been given so far. As a photography student, I personally feel that getting a degree in this field will be helpful. My BFA includes business classes and a whole lot more I never knew would be necessary. Honestly though, a lot of the reason I am going through the program is the networking. I believe this career isn't just about your images(pretty please take good shots though) but who knows you. So if you want to be monetarily secure with this as your full-time job: learn to be professional, learn the business, and make those connections!

 

[GerryDavid]

I like the advice that has been given so far. As a photography student, I personally feel that getting a degree in this field will be helpful. My BFA includes business classes and a whole lot more I never knew would be necessary. Honestly though, a lot of the reason I am going through the program is the networking. I believe this career isn't just about your images(pretty please take good shots though) but who knows you. So if you want to be monetarily secure with this as your full-time job: learn to be professional, learn the business, and make those connections!

Years ago when I called Algonquin College to see what the full time course costs in books the girl was like "wow, that's really expensive". that was my first clue that full time was not for me. And half the stuff they cover does not seem relevant to the standard portrait business. Not many of us prints our own pictures in the darkroom, especially color ones which is much harder.

I opted to take the night classes, learn about the camera and how it works and use it in manual, photoshop and lighting. I also took some marketing classes. If I had of stayed in the area I dont think the contacts would have helped me to much since most of them would have been direct competitors.

 

[MLeeK]

Honestly? Change your major. Photography is easy. Finding a JOB in the photography field? Nearly impossible. There are some out there, but not very many. And you'll need experience to land one of them. Not a degree. Most photographers are in business for themselves. In which case I still say switch your major. Photography is easy, business is HARD AS HELL.
Check out this post: http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...y-advice-opening-business-building-house.html

 

[GrantH]

I see photography as an entrepreneurs dream field. Why? You have to bust ass just to get noticed and when you do...it's great (I'd imagine). It is a profession, not a career.

 

[SimpleFoto]

If you want to work in a studio then I'd suggest working in a studio as experience. I spent 4 years doing a bachelor degree in fine arts with a photography major and learned nothing about running a photography business. I learned lots about art and composition and critique but didn't know the first thing about being an actual photographer as a profession. There was some pretty gaping holes in what i knew. If I had spent those same for years working for free as an assistant for a photographer I'd know a ton of things about the business.