If you’re just beginning to think about what comes next, or asking, “What should I do with my degree?” here are a few starting points for exploring where your Arts degree can take you.
There’s no single path you’re meant to follow. Getting an Arts education opens up many possibilities, and your UBC journey can take shape in different ways that fit your goals and interests.
Thinking about careers beyond just a job title
Work is more than a job title. For some people, it’s about purpose or impact. For others, it’s about stability, growth, or flexibility—and for most, it’s a mix that changes over time.
Taking a moment to reflect on what matters to you can help you see more possibilities than you might expect. If you want to talk things through, Career Educators at the UBC Career Centre are available to have those conversations with you.
Start small. A few notes, a quick sketch, or a short conversation with a friend can be enough to begin noticing what feels important to you right now. Here are a few questions you can use as starting points:
- What is the purpose of work for you?
- What defines good or worthwhile work?
- How do your values show up in the things you care about or pursue?
- What role does money play in how you think about your future?
- What do experience, growth, and fulfillment have to do with the kind of career you want?
Rethinking common career assumptions
As you start thinking about what “career” means to you, you might notice a few assumptions shaping how you see your options. Some of these assumptions can quietly narrow the paths you consider, even before you’ve had a chance to explore what’s possible.
One common assumption is, “My career should be directly related to my degree.” That idea can make it harder to notice roles or fields where the skills you’re building are just as valuable. Try shifting the frame to something like, “My degree helps me develop ways of thinking and working that can apply across many kinds of careers.” What changes when you look at your options through that lens?
Another belief that some Arts students carry is that their degree isn’t especially “practical”. In reality, employers across many sectors actively seek out skills and mindsetsArts graduates bring to the workplace—especially communication, critical thinking, adaptability, and collaboration.
Take a minute to reflect on the skills you’re gaining through your degree and where you’re already using them, both inside and outside the classroom.
Seeing your skills in different fields
Work is changing, and so are the places that Arts graduates are finding their footing. The ways of thinking and working that you build during your Arts degree show up in more roles than job titles often suggest.
You’ll find Arts graduates across fields like finance, technology, policy, energy, non-profits, creative industries, and start-ups. Some build careers within organizations, while others combine roles, freelance, or create their own projects over time.
If you’re curious, looking at what actual Arts graduates are doing now can make these possibilities feel a bit more concrete. Seeing real career paths, rather than “industries,” can help you imagine what might fit you, not just what sounds good on paper.
Your conversations will shape you
One simple way to learn more about a path you’re curious about is to talk to someone who’s already on it. These conversations are often called “informational interviews,” but they don’t need to be formal or awkward.
This could be a quick coffee, a short Zoom call, or even a few messages back and forth on LinkedIn. You might ask what their day-to-day work looks like, how they found their way into their role, or what they wish they’d known when they were starting out.
If it helps, many people are more open to these conversations than you might expect. Most people remember what it felt like to be figuring things out, and many genuinely enjoy sharing their own stories and experiences.
Over time, these conversations can help you see how different choices, experiences, and interests shape real career paths, not just the ones you read about in job descriptions.
Climb the wall, not the ladder
Careers are often described as ladders: one direction, one goal, one “top.” But many people experience their working lives more like a climbing wall. There are different routes, sideways moves, pauses, and moments to reassess along the way.
Your Arts degree gives you more than one way forward. The skills and experiences you build can support different kinds of roles, fields, and paths as your interests and priorities change.
As you move through your degree, keep inviting others into the conversation. The classes you take, the people you meet, and the experiences you have all shape what comes next, often in ways that only become clear looking back.
Your Arts degree doesn’t point to one fixed outcome, but to a range of possibilities shaped by what you explore and the people you learn from over time. You don’t need a full plan to begin. Starting with a few questions and noticing what holds your interest is enough.
Hi, I’m Robyn, Arts Career Strategist. Have questions or want to have a career conversation? Sign up to meet with me through CareersOnline by clicking the “Advising” tab at the top.
This blog post was originally inspired by Juliana de Souza, former Arts Career Strategist.
