Maybe someone let it slip that degrees and graduate degrees in Art qualify you for minimum wage jobs.
Yea, I agree. She probably killed herself because she realized she was in a dead-end career path. Everyone knows that the only worthwhile pursuits in life are those that rake in large amounts of cash. Not.
As a working professional artist, I partially disagree. Degrees cannot assure success, neither the lack of a degree. I am self-taught, sans degree, not only above minimum wage, but make a comfortable living. If you can enjoy what you do and not consider it work, and many people are willing to pay for your creativity (sometimes more than you think it's worth, but they do) you can feel good about what you do as an artist. I feel really good.