Best Of

I know of plenty people that choose a job for the stability and good pay, but have to find hobbies to just have a "enjoyable" life.  But if you follow your passion and get a job you enjoy, then that is already an "enjoyable" life. Yes, there may be struggles along the way (and may be more than that "stable" job), but that is life in a nutshell.  When you follow your passion, I feel like everything will fall into place one way or another. 

As for education, if you know what you want to do (as in specialization in 3D art), there are a lot of affordable options out there.  There are tutorials on youtube, gumroad, and other sources (everything is at your fingertips now because of the internet).  Also, forums like polycount are great for feedback, to help you improve.  I feel like going to an art school is good for exploration, but if you already know what you want to do in the art field, it may be unnecessary. Most people use the diplomas to help boost their resume so it is easier to get work visas in the industry.  On the other hand, if you can find a school that strictly does your specialization, the structure and guidance may help you improve quicker. Some schools are online that are more affordable than going to the actual place, such as CGMA, Think Tank Online, and CG Spectrum (and may be others that I haven't listed).  But in the end, you just have to put in the hours to get good enough to be considered "hireable."

As you can see, this forum may be a little biased towards a more stable life because most of us have chosen the "follow your passion" route. 

Is it worth the time and effort? Objectively speaking no. For the same amount of energy and dedication that is required to make it into the games industry you can actually get a very, very well paying job, without the issues that the games industry has and especially without the need to move as often ungrounding your family.

Now, if you are like me, you might find yourself in the situation that subjectively speaking working in as a 3D artists is the only thing that really makes you happy while working a regular office job (or anything else really) drives you to depressions. In that case, if working is something that is important to you to be happy and fulfilled it is worth it with all the pain and trouble it comes along.

If you are not certain that this is the only path for you, you probably should go with the alternative. Art requires too much effort and passion to be persued when its not a necessity for your happiness. There are not enough jobs to beat those who are passionate about it.

I don't think the schools, even the expensive ones, replace discipline to improve on your own.