Home Career & Education

[Concluded] Do employers care which university you go to?

polycounter lvl 7
Offline / Send Message
CodeferBlue polycounter lvl 7
So I know in other indsutries such as medical or engineering, employers care what university you've graduated from. If you've graduated from Harvard I can imagine the employer choosing you over another potential employee whome may have graduated from another, lower reputable university.

Does this apply in the 3D games industry? I'd think no. Its your portfolio that matters. The art you can create and the artistic sense that you have is what matters. Not what university you've graduated from. Do employers much care or look at what university you may have graduated from? Or do they evaluate your capabilities through your portfolio?
The reason I ask is because I have a university in my town, it's 10 minutes away, its a high quality university, well paid for and has all the materials I'd need but the only thing is that it's fairly new. Only been around for 30-40 years. It's had a lot of successful 3d art graduates though might I add. So would it really be beneficial for me to travel further for a higher reputable uni and potentially pay a significant amount more? Would appreciate it if some light was shed on this.

Replies

  • Sunray
    Offline / Send Message
    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    Don't pay for a uni just learn on the internet.
  • beefaroni
    Offline / Send Message
    beefaroni sublime tool
    Its your portfolio that matters. The art you can create and the artistic sense that you have is what matters. Not what university you've graduated from. 
    Yes

    While I was at Hi-Rez we hired a Weapons Artist a year out of high school with 0 college experience. He had a great portfolio and a solid art test. He's been a great contribution to the team ever since.
  • radiancef0rge
    Offline / Send Message
    radiancef0rge ngon master
    Sunray said:
    Don't pay for a uni just learn on the internet.
    stop saying this shit. 

     Do employers much care or look at what university you may have graduated from? 

    Occasionally, if its a student with no experience applying. If they went to a well known uni/college they have a greater chance of a callback then someone with the exact same portfolio with no schooling. (Ringling/SCAD/etc) When it comes to internships we will not consider you if you are not attending school, so there's that to think about as well. 


    More money does not equally better schooling. IE: If money is an issue do gen-eds at a local college for a few hundred dollars and shave off a year or two from the more expensive school. 


    I've posted about this before you can check my replies for more info if you want. 

  • beefaroni
    Offline / Send Message
    beefaroni sublime tool
    radiancef0rge said:

     When it comes to internships we will not consider you if you are not attending school, so there's that to think about as well. 
    From my experience this varies company to company. 

    But yes, I agree with the gen-eds. If you can learn a lot of art fundamentals extremely cheap then it's a great idea. 
  • AGoodFella
    Offline / Send Message
    AGoodFella polycounter lvl 5
    Its all about your portfolio. Uni was a waste of time for me, if I attended an online school instead of uni, I feel I would have been much better off.
  • slosh
    Offline / Send Message
    slosh hero character
    For the most part, no.  Folio is king.  That being said, if it's between you and another guy and your folios are somewhat equal, I could see them leaning on a quality like having a degree.  The questions was how do "employers" view a degree, not how "you" view having one or not.
  • CodeferBlue
    Offline / Send Message
    CodeferBlue polycounter lvl 7
    Thanks everybody for your responses. Yeah I've made up my mind that the university I'll be attending is perfectly fine. Again, they have had a lot of successful artists but the uni also has connections with some pretty big companies so I'd say its a very safe bet. Also I'm definitely going uni. It's affordable, I like the lecturers, the uni has a great working environment and I'm definitely going to take the chance and opportunity of going through a formal academic training. Being self taught is great and all but I personally think having a passion for this kind of stuff, having experience, teaching your self the craft because of said passion AND academic training is what will make me a powerful artist. I'd consider my self dumb if I didn't take this opportunity. I'm looking forward to it very much. Thanks again.
  • beefaroni
    Offline / Send Message
    beefaroni sublime tool
     It's affordable, I like the lecturers, the uni has a great working environment and I'm definitely going to take the chance and opportunity of going through a formal academic training.
    Affordable + good working environment sounds great.

    Good luck! 
  • CodeferBlue
    Offline / Send Message
    CodeferBlue polycounter lvl 7
    beefaroni said:
     It's affordable, I like the lecturers, the uni has a great working environment and I'm definitely going to take the chance and opportunity of going through a formal academic training.
    Affordable + good working environment sounds great.

    Good luck! 
    Thanks a ton. ;)
  • miguelnarayan
    Offline / Send Message
    miguelnarayan polycounter lvl 8
    If you go to Art Center and your portfolio is crap, why would anyone hire?
  • radiancef0rge
  • CodeferBlue
    Offline / Send Message
    CodeferBlue polycounter lvl 7
    Networking + Portfolio.
    Networking?
  • CodeferBlue
    Offline / Send Message
    CodeferBlue polycounter lvl 7
    Ahh okay, thanks for clearing that up. So to ensure you have the highest chance of employability, you have to have a good portfolio that stands out from the rest, shows off your best quality work AND you have to learn to work well in teams and adapt to team catered environments. This is so that you build a good reputation, you're known for being reliable and you correspond well amongst other colleagues. Good to know.
  • Elithenia
    Offline / Send Message
    Elithenia polycounter
    Good luck in your studies!
    Learn much, and be a good team player. Do what you can to always strive to improve.

    I currently work at a university and one thing I see with our 2d/3d students is that they work hard to get in here, however when they are here they forget to work to improve, and then feel like the university did not offer them anything in the end.
    You reap what you sow is a bit at work here. If you put in effort to learn the techniques the teachers are showing, strive to improve and be a good team player you will get a lot out of your time at university, no matter where you attend it.
    The networking will then be between the students, teachers and industry professionals that come in to give talks etc. Also make sure to attend polycount meetings and other industry meetups if you can. 

    It all helps. 
    Good luck! :)
  • CodeferBlue
    Offline / Send Message
    CodeferBlue polycounter lvl 7
    Elithenia said:
    Good luck in your studies!
    Learn much, and be a good team player. Do what you can to always strive to improve.

    I currently work at a university and one thing I see with our 2d/3d students is that they work hard to get in here, however when they are here they forget to work to improve, and then feel like the university did not offer them anything in the end.
    You reap what you sow is a bit at work here. If you put in effort to learn the techniques the teachers are showing, strive to improve and be a good team player you will get a lot out of your time at university, no matter where you attend it.
    The networking will then be between the students, teachers and industry professionals that come in to give talks etc. Also make sure to attend polycount meetings and other industry meetups if you can. 

    It all helps. 
    Good luck! :)

    Thanks. :) Yeah I definitely agree with that. Fortunately for me im attending Uni with the intent of learning the methods and techniques, not just coming out with a good portfolio. I really love this stuff so I'm always looking to learn in order to improve and what better place is there than a place full of lecturers and teachers full of knowledge, literally there for the reason of teaching.
  • Elithenia
    Offline / Send Message
    Elithenia polycounter
    CodeferBlue said:
    Thanks. :) Yeah I definitely agree with that. Fortunately for me im attending Uni with the intent of learning the methods and techniques, not just coming out with a good portfolio. I really love this stuff so I'm always looking to learn in order to improve and what better place is there than a place full of lecturers and teachers full of knowledge, literally there for the reason of teaching.
    oh definitely! Also, don't forget to ask questions!
    Despite the fact that you might feel like an annoyance for asking so many questions, most teachers actually likes students who ask. But be sure to ask relevant questions, and not just random questions about anything. But ask them what you can improve on, what you should look at in your work etc. Then do that, and continue to ask them. 
    I know the teachers I work with love that, and they love seeing the students improving, and they get as excited as the student when they finish something great! 
  • CodeferBlue
    Offline / Send Message
    CodeferBlue polycounter lvl 7
    Elithenia said:
    CodeferBlue said:
    Thanks. :) Yeah I definitely agree with that. Fortunately for me im attending Uni with the intent of learning the methods and techniques, not just coming out with a good portfolio. I really love this stuff so I'm always looking to learn in order to improve and what better place is there than a place full of lecturers and teachers full of knowledge, literally there for the reason of teaching.
    oh definitely! Also, don't forget to ask questions!
    Despite the fact that you might feel like an annoyance for asking so many questions, most teachers actually likes students who ask. But be sure to ask relevant questions, and not just random questions about anything. But ask them what you can improve on, what you should look at in your work etc. Then do that, and continue to ask them. 
    I know the teachers I work with love that, and they love seeing the students improving, and they get as excited as the student when they finish something great! 

    Haha yeah I'm a question asker. Good to know. :D
    I see you're from London. The one I'm hoping to attend is Bolton University. Near Manchester. ;)
  • Elithenia
    Offline / Send Message
    Elithenia polycounter
    CodeferBlue said:
    Haha yeah I'm a question asker. Good to know. :D
    I see you're from London. The one I'm hoping to attend is Bolton University. Near Manchester. ;)
    Just outside London. in Hatfield.
    I currently work for University of Hertfordshire, for the Animation, Games Art and VFX degree :)
  • CodeferBlue
    Offline / Send Message
    CodeferBlue polycounter lvl 7
    Elithenia said:
    CodeferBlue said:
    Haha yeah I'm a question asker. Good to know. :D
    I see you're from London. The one I'm hoping to attend is Bolton University. Near Manchester. ;)
    Just outside London. in Hatfield.
    I currently work for University of Hertfordshire, for the Animation, Games Art and VFX degree :)
    Wow thats amazing. I envy you haha.
  • Elithenia
    Offline / Send Message
    Elithenia polycounter
    You'll get to where you want to be! Just keep working and improving and you'll surprise even yourself how far you can go with a little umpf and willingness to learn. :)
  • CodeferBlue
    Offline / Send Message
    CodeferBlue polycounter lvl 7
    Elithenia said:
    You'll get to where you want to be! Just keep working and improving and you'll surprise even yourself how far you can go with a little umpf and willingness to learn. :)
    Yeah. I feel like a roaring train fueled by my willingness to learn this type of stuff, I just need a destination. But thanks again. ;)
  • Elithenia
    Offline / Send Message
    Elithenia polycounter
    keep up the steam then!
    and you'll find your wanted destination, for the time being, when you work at it. But also realise that it can change, and sometimes where you thought you wanted to be is not where you want to be in 3 years time :)
  • CodeferBlue
    Offline / Send Message
    CodeferBlue polycounter lvl 7
    By networking, I was also implying that if you don't currently work in the industry, you have the opportunity to get in touch with industry professionals and the artists that you admire the most. It`s an opportunity to surround yourself with greater artists and learn from them. And who knows, they might even help you get your first job if they see that you work hard and got mad skills.
    Yeah I figured. I can see how that would be extremely helpful. Thanks for clearing this up. :)
  • CodeferBlue
    Offline / Send Message
    CodeferBlue polycounter lvl 7
    Elithenia said:
    keep up the steam then!
    and you'll find your wanted destination, for the time being, when you work at it. But also realise that it can change, and sometimes where you thought you wanted to be is not where you want to be in 3 years time :)
    Interesting advice. I'll keep it in mind!
Sign In or Register to comment.