In the world of university and tertiary level education, humanities and arts degrees are typically viewed as being easy degrees with no real world qualifications.

Why? Because they’re not going to save lives like a medical degree? Because they don’t drain your soul and emotions like a law degree? Why bother with an Arts degree, when you could just express that creativity through pottery classes and interpretative dance lessons, am I right?

The amount of flack that Arts students get from people is ridiculous. Heck, our funding gets cut due to the common misconception that the Arts are useless. But they’re important. And not as much of a bludge subject as you might think.

So. Many. Readings

If you’re doing a literature major, chances are you’ll have a lot of readings. This can usually mean skimming through Shakespeare or reading classic texts such as The Great Gatsby or Great Expectations.

But this can also mean drowning in giant texts like Ulysses or War and Peace. The sheer intensity and dullness of some of the things I’ve read in Literature has really made me want to get a time machine and travel back to 1922 just to punch James Joyce for being so goddamn boring.

It’s A Hard Knock Life

For drama students, a significant chunk of their week is usually taken up by rehearsals (for assessment based rehearsals and potentially rehearsals for non-uni things).

For music students, courses may typically involve several hours of rehearsing, composing, recording and editing tracks. And in a writing major, it’s a given that there will be a lot of writing involved. But there’s also a lot of reading, proofreading and editing, too.

Being Creative Is Exhausting 

Creativity is a process. It requires focus, hard work, time, inspiration, and just as much mental energy as anything else. When you’re coming up with ideas for stories, song lyrics or your next big project, it’s just as stressful and draining.

Seriously, try coming up with the next Great Novel of Our Generation whilst struggling with writer’s block or lack of inspiration. It’s hard and it’s frustrating.

“But It’s For Exposure”

In no other degree are you always going to be expected to work for free or get paid less than what you deserve to be paid. When you’re an emerging artist trying to break into the industry, paid opportunities are scarce. You’re gonna get screwed over by people who want you to work for free. However, this is totally normal and all OK because you’re going to gain “exposure”.

Sorry mate, I don’t really want to take photographs of your cat’s Bat Mitzvah just to get exposure. Photography equipment, music equipment, editing software, art tools, textbooks and travel costs all add up, and exposure doesn’t pay the bills.

We’re Not All Daydreamers

Many Arts students are already carving their way to success. They’re out there doing internships and auditioning for plays and companies. They’re volunteering at festivals and cultural events, experimenting with new forms of theatre and recording EPs and performing at gigs. They’re building their portfolios. They’re setting themselves up to become kickass entrepreneurs.

Our passion and our creativity needs to stop being the laughing stock of the university world.

To all my fellow Arts students who may be questioning themselves (we’ve all been there), no matter what your Arts major might be (dance, drama, history, writing, anthropology) it will give you a broader understanding of the world and a greater appreciation for all forms of art. And to everyone else who looks down on my ‘useless degree,’ please know that Arts students aren’t necessarily doing this type of degree purely for fun or because they can’t think of anything else to do.

Many Arts students are studying at a tertiary level to get better at what they love doing and to gain first-hand insight from professionals in the arts industries. Our passion and our creativity needs to stop being the laughing stock of the university world.

Vivienne Cowburn is an eclectic writer and ardent coffee snob. When she’s not studying Creative Writing at QUT, she’s dreaming of becoming a shark.

(Photo: Please Like Me/ABC)