Why do some artists continue their careers while others drop out?

Navigating Identity, Time, and Opportunity in artistic careers

Joanne Hoven Stohs, a psychology professor at California State University, conducted a study called “Young adult predictors and midlife outcomes of ‘Starving Artists’ careers,” which found that many fine arts majors did not continue pursuing careers in the arts over the long term.

While nearly half of these individuals worked in the arts right after graduation, only about six percent supported themselves in the fine arts 18 years later, in what she calls "midlife." Instead, most transitioned to other careers, with many moving into fields like advertising, teaching, or non-arts occupations. This shift suggests that sustaining a career in the fine arts can be difficult over time, with many artists needing to explore alternative career paths to support themselves in the long run.

Career progression in the arts based on Stohl.J research

“Why do some artists stay in their art careers while others do not?”.

However, there are common patterns for those who do find consistency as artists. For her research on ‘Career Patterns and Family Status of Women and Men Artists,’ Stohl studied women with continuous careers (two or fewer job transitions within the artistic field). She found that these women tended to have higher personal incomes, greater job respect, and fewer children than women with interrupted careers.

Additionally, the chance of staying in an art career increases with age. The more experience an artist has, the more likely they are to continue being an artist, whether that experience is full-time or part-time. However, having a high degree or majoring in art doesn’t impact persistence as much as hands-on expertise.

The artist labor market¹ is unique. Artists are two or three times more likely to be unemployed and work fewer hours than professionals. This could be due to the loss of work time caused by frequent transitions from one job to another, both inside and outside their artistic profession. It can be viewed as one of the occupational hazards of working in the arts.

A study of early-career Swedish novelists shows why some writers keep going after they write their first book while others stop. Data from Sweden show that only 43 percent of novelists who published their first book between 2001 and 2010 published a second book within eight years².

It turns out that being able to stick with writing isn’t just about having good ideas or being talented. It also depends on making space for writing and feeling like a real “writer” in your mind.

Other things that influence this are financial stability, work and family commitments, and time management skills. Additionally, historical and cultural context influence an artist’s ability to sustain their career.³

Artists need to do the impossible, and I can attest to this through my career trajectory. They need to manage multiple jobs, family life, and leisure activities, especially when they have younger kids, and sustain creative identities.

If all these different trajectories align, then there is a much higher chance for an artist to continue being an artist, and if they don’t, then it will force an artist to stop pursuing an art career.

Factors Impacting Career Longevity

1. Creative identity: Artists need to be generalists to stay employable, so a fine artist may also work as a graphic designer or a sculptor may also work as a furniture maker. However, it is pertinent that artists reaffirm their identity by making progress, which means publishing a novel if they are writers or having a show if they are fine artists. This helps reduce the uncertainty that an artist may feel about being an artist in the first place. New works help anchor an artist's identity and give them hope, helping them stay confident and focused in a career full of challenges and uncertainties.

2. Time: This is probably the most important thing, and a lack of it will lead to an artist's career discontinuing. Parenting and non-artistic work can both leave an artist with no time to continue being an artist. Gender roles and also where an artist lives can play essential parts here. Here is where research implies that artists who can align some of these trajectories and create time to write can have sustainable careers vs those who cannot. An example could be a supportive spouse who can watch the kids or provide financial stability to support their partner’s writing career.

3. Opportunity structure: Early art careers can lead to later success, called ‘cumulative advantage.’ The contacts and networks of early career success can help an artist later and help build their prestige and reputation in the art market. However, if an artist cannot hit the proper career milestones at the right time, this could adversely affect their later career development. For example, getting a grant early in a career can free up time for an artist or a writer to work on their art.

4. External identity: This is the other side of the creative identity. One may see oneself as an artist, an author, or a musician. Still, if this aspect of one's career is not endorsed by external factors like being published or read, there is a discord between internal and external identities. Being published can mean having a public role as an author or being recognized as having serious intent. This can give an artist confidence to continue being an artist. It can also eventually have an opposite effect in the later phase of an artist's journey, where the public demand may not align with the artist’s creative identity and put them off their path.

5. Commitment: Artists may have different commitment focuses. An artist may want to change society and move to activism and movement building. They may want to make sufficient money and prioritize graphic design over fine arts. They may have something important to communicate and feel satiated, making just one masterpiece and being done for life. On the flip side, they may never be content and keep moving from one medium to another. These varying forms of commitment to different things can lead to furtherance or discontinuation of their careers.

   

   Commitment focus for the artist

6. Social accomplishment: Artists outside the cultural sphere may have difficulty understanding its workings. Growing up or being surrounded by a culture of art and literature can provide inspiration and a shared idea of what is meaningful or valuable. It can help an artist’s creative work through critique and collaboration.

7. Accidental artists: Unlike serious artists, accidental artists may stumble upon a creative endeavor to pass the time and enjoy it or even be very good at it. However, since they may not see it as their identity, they may never pursue it outside of a way to pass the time during leisure hours, sickness, or retirement.

8. Emotional Capital: Emotional capital refers to the emotional strength and resilience people build over time, which helps them cope with challenges. For artists and writers, creating a sense of a "calling"—believing that writing is something they were meant to do—was a key part of their journey. By telling themselves this story, they could frame their struggles with rejection and lack of publication as part of the process rather than a personal failure.

Conclusion

Sustaining a career in the arts is complex and multifaceted, shaped by creative identity, time management, opportunity structure, and social networks.

While formal education and artistic degrees hold value, hands-on experience and continuous engagement with one’s craft are far more influential in determining an artist’s longevity in the field.

Success in the arts often hinges not just on talent but on the ability to navigate the practical realities of work-life balance, financial stability, and personal commitment.

Those who thrive in the arts are often those who can persist despite the uncertainties, remain adaptable to shifting career paths, and maintain a sense of identity and purpose in their work. By understanding these dynamics, artists can better position themselves for a sustainable career, one that evolves with both personal growth and external circumstances, ensuring their creative contributions endure over time.

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1574067606010234

2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304422X21001406

3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304422X2300058X