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1"It's not quite that simple, either. I remember 20 years ago, all the engineers were lording it over the "art majors." And now the engineers are out of work or under employed and the "art majors" are pulling down the big bucks."
I have a fine arts degree, and have been in six figures for ten years. It appears that I'll have to all but sell my soul to the false god of cheap plastic crap to remain at that level going forward, however, and I resent it.
You're trying to quantify something that can't be quantified. The best engineers I ever met not only worked like fiends and really knew their stuff, but also possessed an abundnace of creativity. That's what I mean by talent -- a combination of creativity, hard work and brute force intellect.
The same qualities are found in people successful in the more artsy-fartsy careers.
The ones who are almost always unsuccessful are those who think a degree assures them of success -- that's just the "buy in" before the game starts. And those who want some kind of 9 to 5 paradise life.
I remember one boss I had who fired a guy who repetitively said, "Nothing is more important to me than my family." The firing began with the boss saying, "You're going to be spending a lot more time with your family." The boss was an SOB, but had a point.