A recent study from H&R Block indicates that unemployment levels among recent graduates are highest for those who studied the arts, reports the Huffington Post.
In a chart of the 10 worst majors, film, video, and the “photographic arts” lead the way, followed closely by fine arts and commercial art and graphic design. Rounding out the top—or bottom, rather—five: Philosophy and religious studies, and anthropology and archaeology.
Unemployment rates ranging from 12.9 to 11.8 percent for those art students who have graduated in recent years may prove to be a powerful disincentive for college students interested in pursuing their studies in an arts-related field. It all comes down to whether you value passion over your chance of geting a paycheck.
Unsurprisingly, the majors that fare the best are business, computer and information sciences, and engineering, while the top industries for students entering the workplace are advertising, computer software, and accounting and finance.
The study does glean some unexpected data as well. The city that sees the largest increase in entry-level salary from year to year is Phoenix, Arizona, and the industry with the highest average starting salary is mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction. Unfortunately, that seems unlikely to help those who have more artistic inclinations.