Good job, graduates

Yu Runsheng, professor

Party secretary of the School of Humanities, Central Academy of Fine Arts

There is a wide range when it comes to fine arts majors — oil painting, traditional Chinese painting, design, architecture, sculpture, and art history, just to name a few — so the choices of graduates are diverse, said Yu. They either become full-time artists, enter research centers, teach in high schools or colleges, or do design work for technology and internet companies.

"With the advancement of people's material lives, they have higher requirements for cultural and art products, and they are more aware of the importance of aesthetic education and creative design," said Yu.

Just like graduates of other majors, art students also tend to work in bigger cities such as Beijing or those in eastern China's coastal areas as they believe these cities hold the country's majority of art resources, such as art markets, museums and galleries. But Yu said graduates should change their mindsets and also consider less developed areas in middle and western China. Not only have modern transportation and the internet greatly narrowed the gap between these areas and big cities, but they might also be home to different kinds of art resources.

"Many remote areas have their unique local traditions and cultural heritages that are worth exploring. These are valuable resources for art students," said Yu. "Also, life in big cities can be stressful, which isn't ideal when it comes to jobs requiring creativity. The relaxing and tranquil environment of small towns can help give artists inspiration."

But graduating from college and landing a job is no guarantee of a fruitful life. Yu said that with artificial intelligence developing the ability to replace human labor, especially for repetitive types of work, art students — and perhaps all students — shouldn't just settle for basic-level jobs.

"The core value of human beings is their unrestrained imagination and creativity," said Yu. "That's what can't be replaced."

And to make sure that they don't lose their creativity, Yu recommends that graduates always keep a curious mindset and pursue lifelong learning.

"Only if you are constantly curious will you keep exploring outward to the outside world and inward to your inner self," Yu said. "And only if we keep learning can we avoid becoming slaves to technology and instead be the real owners of our future."