   Schooling Dilema.. Should I go to college?
  I've been planning on taking the 3D Modeling & Animation for Game Design course at the Center for Arts and Technology in my hometown of Kelowna, BC. The course is 2 years long and will cost me $37000. Now this is a lot of money for me coming from a poor family, especially since $33280 of it would be supplied by BC Student loan, and the rest I'd have to work for before it starts in October, or get a bank student loan for. But after doing some reading around, I've been seeing people say that most employer's don't really give a rats ass about your diploma, all they care about is where you've worked before, and how good your work is. If this is the case, would it be better for me to just use online tutorials to teach myself what I want to learn, create a good portfolio/demo reel and try to get hired like that? I'm only good at learning information through my eyes, not my ears, so a Teacher would only be good for resolving problems not easily searchable on the net.So is it really the case that most employer's in this industry only care about your experience and quality of work? And if so, do you think I should just teach myself, instead of spending that huge amount of cash on schooling? I feel I could do just as well on my own, if not faster.I'll greatly appreciate any input on this subject, thank you.   
Quote:Original post by Kakkoii But after doing some reading around, I've been seeing people say that most employer's don't really give a rats ass about your diploma, all they care about is where you've worked before, and how good your work is.This is entirely false. It may be that, if you're really good, you can get hired without a degree. But a very large fraction of college graduates (~50%) are unable to find skilled jobs right now -- and that's not even due to economic conditions, it's a simple numbers game. Why would an employer settle for you when they can have a much more educated and probably far more mature college graduate? Especially since an art school graduate is going to be at least as good and probably much better than you.If you want to get a job without a degree, a good demo reel is worthless. You need a fantastic, mind blowing demo reel, and probably a few finished projects too.   ;  Generally I'd say you're better off taking a general course on programming and then adapting it to gaming, than you are taking a course specifically on gaming. The knowledge you gain in the former is applicable to any problem, while the knowledge you gain in the latter is more limited; if you find you need to get a job and there are no gaming jobs available (and keep in mind that gaming jobs are hotly contested), then having a degree in gaming is much worse than having a general-purpose degree. But what you're really asking is how important the degree itself is. I don't know how company HR departments handle resumes, but as a general rule, I suspect they're looking for the first opportunity to throw the resume out; after all, they have to sort through a lot of different resumes. Not having a degree is, sadly, a good excuse to toss a resume. So if you're going to go that route, you need to have something really impressive to replace that lack of degree. For example, a stunning portfolio for an artist would probably make up for a lack of formal training. You have to be able to demonstrate, within the confines of the resume/portfolio system, that you have the skills needed to do the job.   ;  @Derakon: It's not a course on gaming. It's a course for teaching how to do 3D modeling, animation, lighting, motion capture for Games. They teach you how to use Maya and Zbrush, and there's a plethora of other sections to the 2 year course.http://www.digitalartschool.com/programs/3d_game_animation@Promit: Well that's what I'm banking on, is being really good. And I'm not going to try and get hired in a few months obviously. I'd spend 2 years or so, just like I would if I take the course, teaching myself, and creating an amazing portfolio and demo reel.   ;  What makes you think you can become a better artist in the same span of time on your own with absolutely no background in the subject?   ;  Go to school. I understand the thought of debt can be daunting, but there is no better investment you can ever make. My family didn't have a lot of means either, but I took out loans a few times bigger than what you are looking at now, and I don't regret it for a second.School is also about more than a piece of paper, its about experiences, networking, maturing, and showing that you can accomplish something "big". It also says "This person stuck it out, even when the material wasn't to his liking, or it was difficult. He did what was asked, did it well, and learned new things that were required to do so."As an individual, even talented, a portfolio only says "Here's some stuff he did, but for all we know he's only going to be happy drawing the types of things in his portfolio."Another thing is that, even for a position as a 3D animator, you still need a grounding in the classical arts (the kind that gets your hands dirty), and in being able to appreciate (critique, understand, and talk about) art in general. Even in my Game Development degree program they made all the programmers take art appreciation, just so that we could talk to artists on their terms.   ;Quote:Original post by Kakkoii But after doing some reading around, I've been seeing people say that most employer's don't really give a rats ass about your diploma, all they care about is where you've worked before, and how good your work is.Even if the above is true,Quote: If this is the case, would it be better for me to just use online tutorials to teach myself what I want to learn, create a good portfolio/demo reel and try to get hired like that? online tutorials don't count as 'worked before'.;Quote:Original post by TelastynQuote:Original post by Kakkoii But after doing some reading around, I've been seeing people say that most employer's don't really give a rats ass about your diploma, all they care about is where you've worked before, and how good your work is.Even if the above is true,Quote: If this is the case, would it be better for me to just use online tutorials to teach myself what I want to learn, create a good portfolio/demo reel and try to get hired like that? online tutorials don't count as 'worked before'.I didn't suggest it did O_o.And thanks for your reply Ravyne and sort of Prompt lol, It's swayed me more towards the schooling.;  On the one hand, you go to school for X years, incurring a debt of Y, and then hope to obtain a job Z that will afford you the lifestyle you desire while enabling you to pay off your debt.On the other hand, you take a job worse than Z right now and hope that in X years you will have learned as much as you would have in school, and that your superior real world experience will make you a preferable candidate to the kid fresh out of school.It's not an exact comparison, but there are merits to not going to school. The debt is a significant consideration - $37,000 for 2 years of school isn't cheap. If you were going for four years at those rates, you'd be looking at nearly $75,000 in debt! (By way of comparison, my parents paid for 2 of my years and I took loans for the other two, but by going to an in-state school with no special materials costs I only racked up a debt of about US$16,000.)There are definitely benefits to going to school, of course, but it's not the obvious advantage that seems to be suggested here. If you are driven enough, I'd say skip school and just take classes at your local community college in subjects like art history - survey courses designed to broaden your horizon and introduce you to topics you might never encounter on your own. Find a low-level production job as an artist of some sort now, like working in a print shop or at your local newspaper and learn everything you can about production processes. Work on your portfolio and personal technique relentlessly, and in two years I think you'll be extremely competitive with the graduates.A college degree is useful, and a lot of companies' HR departments tend to use it as a way of weeding out poorer candidates, but the bottom line is always whether you can do the work. If you can, you're in.Good luck.   ;  I'd suggest taking a year off to save up (considering your student lon won't cover enough, and you don't have the means to pay the rest), and in the mean time, buy a quality modelling app (3dsmax, maya) and a book or 2, and get to work.  If by the end of that year, you still really love it, and you have enough money, then go back to school, because you will have the means, and some experience.  If you don't want to do it, you've gained work experience, some cash in pocket, and you've saved yourself going into a field that you don't truely enjoy (and 40k worth of debt all said and done).I know what it's like to just wanna get going, but patience and clarity are virtues, and it's better to get your feet wet while gaining a bit of financial stability instead of diving right into a heap load of debt.  If you wanted to do programming, I'd say go for it because you have many more options with a CS degree than the game industry, but with the sort of program you're looking at, you're pretty limited in your options.for the record, from what I've gathered, game companies care quitea bit less about degrees and more about talent for art jobs, but you'd still be going against plenty of peopel with formal education.hope this helps   