3 replies to this topic

[firesnow]

I plan to become an animator when I'm older, but I'm unsure if I should go straight into the industry after I get my bachelor's degree (provided that I can actually get a job), or if I should continue my education into graduate school to earn a master's degree first.
I've heard some people say that it's better to go to graduate school because it'll make my resume look more impressive and I'd be able to learn more. Still, others argue that it's best to get real experience as soon as possible.
Does anyone have any advice or opinions about this?

(Note: I'm still a high school senior, so I guess I don't have to worry about this too much now, but I'd like to have a better idea of where I'm headed)

[eInfiniti]

I think it depends on the field/industry. I am not familiar with animation industry. So, I don't have a strong opinion. Generally speaking, I think if someone intends to get a master's degree, it is better for him/her to get into graduate school right after college. That way, he or she will start at a higher academic level and will view things at a higher level, which will help career advancement. Job choices are likely somewhat different with a master's degree vs. without.

To me, these are groups of people that are somewhat different (or, the career paths are somewhat different):

- college degree and then work
- college degree, work, master's degree, and then work
- college degree, master's degree, and then work

I am talking about getting a master's degree in the same field as the college degree. If you want to get an MBA degree, getting some work experience after college degree prior to MBA is thought to be better.

[firesnow]

Thank you for posting your thoughts! I agree that it does depend a lot on the field/industry.
I spoke to some of my friends and most of them recommended that I try to find a job after 4 years. I'm going to speak to a counselor about this again some time in the future, but I figured that right now I should be more worried about getting into a college before I worry about graduate school.

[darko100]

What kind of animation school do you want to go in? There are plenty of animation jobs you can go to... I think the best one is animating for games with math and 3d calculations.

Also , there is After Effects animation which is pretty easy to understand , you can have plugins and etc. I suggest you to find what you really want to do , because having the job which doesn't make you trouble is the most important.

And there are many ways to archieve animation , which means that you can use even a software which is not intended for animation to archieve an effect. That includes programming , Photoshop etc. I want to say that, you might go to wrong way and not get the job you want.

To include , atleast in my country , when going to IT school , you need to be already prepared for work and have computer experience. Sorry if i missed the topic , i'm not understanding you completely.