• Many career opportunities exist in the arts.photo paintbrush image by Aleksandar Radovanovic from Fotolia.com
  
  A multiplicity of opportunities is available to people with a genuine passion for art. But passion isn't enough---embarking on a visual-arts career involves getting a proper education and making the right contacts in an increasingly globalized art world that can be difficult to navigate.
  
  

Fine Artists

• Increasingly, becoming an artist is being seen as a glamorous and sometimes even lucrative profession, while 50 years ago the situation was quite different. With the advent of th multimillionaire superartists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst, young people throughout the western world dream of one day attaining similar heights in their art careers. In reality, however, the earnings of fine artists can vary tremendously. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, fine artists can earn as little as $20,780 per year on average or as much as $83,410 (as of 2010.)
  
  

Curators

• Curators work in institutions, for private galleries or as freelancers in organizing and cataloging art exhibitions and collections. Most curators have at least a master's degree, while many also have a doctorate. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for museum curator is $90,205, as of 2010.
  
  

Art Directors

• In the commercial sector, art directors are employed to overlook the visual aspects of a business. They frequently work for advertising, publishing, design and movie-production firms. Typically, a visual artist will be hired to work in the art department for such a firm and later be promoted to the position of art director after she has proven her talent, creativity and effectiveness at meeting deadlines. The art director then oversees and helps develop the projects that all artists and designers in the department are working on. According to statistics gathered by the U.S. Bureau of Statistics, the average salary for an art director is $76,980 (as of 2010.)
  
  

Art Education

• If you have an interest in art and want to share your passion, you may want to enter the field of art education, teaching art to students in elementary, middle or high school. In addition to your bachelor's degree in art, you will have to get teacher certification.