<p>After switching gears from an animation degree to a computer science degree (currently in a community college), I began investigating what universities/college best suits my needs. A counselor has pointed me to University of Illinois Urbana Champaign (UIUC), however my Animation professor remains adamant that universities in California will be more profitable in terms of connections for both animation and CS. He recommended me to finish my CS degree in UIUC, and later attend grad school (in California) to work on a possible career in Animation. </p>
<p>Although my major is in CS, I do not want to stray far from Animation (as my goal is a career that utilizes both skills, thus increasing marketability - CS as a safety-net,, and animation as the stretch goal).</p>
<p>Is a grad school worth the time and money? Especially with the internet easing the process of getting discovered, I am wary of spending more money for the benefit of possibly meeting the right people. Are there alternatives to being discovered without the need for schooling (art school)?</p>
<p>If you are not interested in learning more, graduate school might not be for you; although statistics will claim more education is pretty much always worth it. However, this data is scewed by what it shows: I’m sure if you adjust for undergraduate performance, or only compare those who turned down graduate studies for work, income disparaties might lessen. </p>
<p>Computer science is special among fields, if you were in academics or business I’d say graduate school.
I guess it depends on how talented you currently are: are you ready to work? Are you talented enough to rise without the extra skills and degree? </p>
<p>I’m sorry that I can’t answer your question. I just don’t know enough about what you’re trying to pursue. But I did want to point you in the direction of the Visual Arts and Film Majors forum, in case you haven’t already seen it. You may find some useful information there. Go to Forum Home. Scroll down to College Majors. Click on the Subtitle of Visual Arts and Film Majors. I have a music major son, and he and I have found that the Music Major forum is often much more helpful than the other general forums for his more specialized questions. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>It depends - there’s no universal answer to this question. Look up people who are doing the kind of work that you want to do, through LinkedIn, Google searches, connections, etc. What kind of degrees do they have? If almost everyone has a graduate degree then you probably need one, too; but if it’s a mix or almost no one does - then you probably don’t need it.</p>
<p>The other thing is that you can always go to work right after undergrad and try to break into animation. If you work for a few years and you can’t get into the field and you know it’s because of your lack of a graduate degree, then you can go back to grad school later.</p>