Arts Workers Underpaid but Happy - Survey
20 January 2014 at 9:30 am
A jobs survey has revealed three quarters of workers in the arts industry are satisfied with their jobs despite earning well below the average wage.
According to arts media site artsHub, its survey – of 750 people – showed that the arts workforce are passionate people who find their jobs exciting and challenging but uncertain and underpaid.
artsHub Editor Deborah Stone said the survey was designed to give people in the arts industry and those considering arts careers a definitive online guide to salaries, career drivers, job satisfaction, position types and future outlook perceptions.
“Arts people love what they do but the word they used most commonly to describe their jobs was ‘challenging’,” she said.
“Working in the arts industry is often a practical struggle so keeping informed is essential. People who want to work in the sector need to know what’s happening with salaries, just as they need news and analysis, job opportunities and ways to find grants.”
The survey identified the range of pay that workers in the industry could expect as well as an average wage that is almost 30 per cent below the national average.
The survey also showed the proportion of arts workers who work two or more jobs and those who depend on a partner or parent to supplement their wage and predictions of future income based on expectations of those currently working in the industry.
The report summary can be downloaded.
Are you really suggesting that arts workers are happy to be underpaid? Who exactly is 'happy' about not being rewarded equally for the amount of knowledge, expertise and energy they put into a job? Just because we enjoy our jobs doesn't mean we enjoyed being paid peanuts for it.