What are the pros and cons of being an art therapist?

Working as an art therapist is satisfying work. It's satisfying to see clients create work and see them transformed through art therapy. Helping others feel so much more calm, centered, and empowered through art. It can provide people with a means to express their inner emotions and process trauma.

As an art therapist, you grow to have a deep understanding more about yourself and others. You'll know more about people's psychology, emotions, how the mind works, and how relationships work than most psychology majors. This valuable knowledge can be taken with you for the rest of your life.

Most art therapists have the flexibility to work a few hours a day, a few days a week. Moreover, because this career is relatively young new, you can create programs, become a director, or create new types of services that combine art therapy, you get to educate people, and become a leader, and spokesperson of this field in many situations.

The qualifications needed to work as an art therapist can be a lot of investment. For example, the minimum degree required to become an art therapist is a master's degree, which is usually two years long. Moreover, you would need around four years of undergrad, two years to graduate, and at least one to two years for certification or license (can take more time, depending on the individual and the situation).

Despite all of this education, the amount of money you make is barely enough to cover the interest cost on your student loans. The national average salary for an art therapist is just $43,00 a year. That is less than an art teacher's salary.

If that wasn't enough, the job prospects for art therapists are not great. The job growth for art therapists was negative from 2004 until 2011.

Also, because art therapists are not sought-out by employers for many reasons (it's a new field, license, insurance, no knowledge about the career or field, etc), this means that art therapists most likely have to work in other types of jobs or get other degrees and licenses.