Which school should I attend for Visa?

BlackSaigon

Hey there, I'm in a bit of a tricky situation right now and I could use some advice. I am a Canadian high school student graduating soon and I have been self teaching 3D myself for a while but I realized it's going to be impossible to find work in the states without a degree for a Visa. I spent the past few days looking for schools but none of them seem to fit. Most of them are at least 30k a year in tuition alone and that is just something I can't afford in addition to living costs. So far the best fit I found was Full Sail University, but even that is 89k in tuition for the degree and the student work doesn't look the best. There was also the thought of getting a bachelor's degree in some sort of fine arts program and get the Visa that way but I'm not sure if that would hinder the chances of getting a visa since I'd be working in 3D. I would also have no connections to the industry and I would have to study a lot longer after graduation to even get a job. I'm really lost right now and if anyone could help, that would be great. 

Taylor Brown

Is there a particular reason you want to come to the US? Canada has a pretty huge game dev scene with many US based companies having satellite studios out there as well. Might be worth doing some research on that before jumping into massive debt. https://www.gamedevmap.com/index.php?country=Canada&state=&city=&query=&type=

 As an aside, game art degrees / uni programs are dubious.. Copying a comment of mine from another thread - 

"There are very, very few game art uni programs in the world that are worth the time and money. And even then, it still boils down to what the student puts into it and how much drive they have to research and experiment outside of established course work. You're better off getting a non game art bachelors purely as a tool for visa and to broaden yourself (something to fall back on too if this doesn't work out). Meanwhile focusing on your game art education through self teaching, online courses (CGMA for example), mentorships and getting involved in 3D art discord communities that push discussion and art challenges."

BlackSaigon

Taylor Brown said:

Is there a particular reason you want to come to the US? Canada has a pretty huge game dev scene with many US based companies having satellite studios out there as well. Might be worth doing some research on that before jumping into massive debt. https://www.gamedevmap.com/index.php?country=Canada&state=&city=&query=&type=

 As an aside, game art degrees / uni programs are dubious.. Copying a comment of mine from another thread - 

"There are very, very few game art uni programs in the world that are worth the time and money. And even then, it still boils down to what the student puts into it and how much drive they have to research and experiment outside of established course work. You're better off getting a non game art bachelors purely as a tool for visa and to broaden yourself (something to fall back on too if this doesn't work out). Meanwhile focusing on your game art education through self teaching, online courses (CGMA for example), mentorships and getting involved in 3D art discord communities that push discussion and art challenges."

The states just has more studios that I'd prefer to work at but I do agree that the debt would be quite troubling. I did have the idea of taking a year or two off after graduation and doing a part time job. The money provided from the job along with my savings would allow me to fully pay tuition for an Academy of Arts University online degree which I heard has a pretty good alumni network. I don't actually expect to learn anything there and I'll be putting more effort into self teaching myself while doing it, but the degree is basically my entry into the states if I ever get the opportunity. I can't tell if that just sounds stupid or if it could actually work out. 

Taylor Brown

It's not stupid but maybe a bit naive. I've never heard of that school so I can't say anything about it but a quick google search shows up lots of fraud allegations and shady incentivization shit though. Red flags! If you're considering taking a degree program purely for the sake of an alumni network.. I don't think it's worth it. Go make a name for yourself here and on some game art discord servers.. Dinusty, Beyond Extent, Experience Points etc.. you will literally be chatting and learning from industry professionals on day one, forming connections and learning up to date techniques and tips FOR FREE. Make awesome art and people will notice.

I feel like working up the idea of being in the US for particular studios you like is placing the cart before the horse. I have no idea what your skill level is but if you are just starting out then realistically getting to a hireable level is a 2-4 year journey. Many, many people burn out on it before they ever get to that point. Take a look through the graveyard of posts here of students asking "Why am I not getting job offers? I finished my bachelors program and it hasn't happened yet!".. then you look at their portfolios and feel sad because their school took their money and taught them nothing that couldn't have been covered by a couple weeks of youtube and we have to break the news to them that they are still at the beginning. Most of the time, those folks fall of the face of the earth because yikes... talk about a gut punch.

BlackSaigon

Taylor Brown said:

It's not stupid but maybe a bit naive. I've never heard of that school so I can't say anything about it but a quick google search shows up lots of fraud allegations and shady incentivization shit though. Red flags! If you're considering taking a degree program purely for the sake of an alumni network.. I don't think it's worth it. Go make a name for yourself here and on some game art discord servers.. Dinusty, Beyond Extent, Experience Points etc.. you will literally be chatting and learning from industry professionals on day one, forming connections and learning up to date techniques and tips FOR FREE. Make awesome art and people will notice.

I feel like working up the idea of being in the US for particular studios you like is placing the cart before the horse. I have no idea what your skill level is but if you are just starting out then realistically getting to a hireable level is a 2-4 year journey. Many, many people burn out on it before they ever get to that point. Take a look through the graveyard of posts here of students asking "Why am I not getting job offers? I finished my bachelors program and it hasn't happened yet!".. then you look at their portfolios and feel sad because their school took their money and taught them nothing that couldn't have been covered by a couple weeks of youtube and we have to break the news to them that they are still at the beginning. Most of the time, those folks fall of the face of the earth because yikes... talk about a gut punch.

Yeah these schools have pretty shitty reputations except for the really expensive ones. I just thought that one would work best because it's online and therefore I could skip the living costs and focus on building a portfolio in my free time. Perhaps I am indeed getting ahead of myself choosing studios in another country just because I enjoy the games they make more. I do already have about 2 years of self teaching and I expected to learn nothing that would be useful from any of these schools, but you are right. 100k is a lot of money and I don't think anything the school would provide would be worth that amount of money. I'll have to think more on it, I still have plenty of time to decide but your post really helped me see the truth of it. Thank you a lot. 

Taylor Brown

Best of luck on your journey.. it's gonna be a bumpy one! :P

BlackSaigon

Taylor Brown said:

Best of luck on your journey.. it's gonna be a bumpy one! :P

I truly appreciate it. Thank you so much! 

Ex-Ray

The other benefit of getting a bachelor's degree in some sort of fine arts program besides visa is, they will teach you the why, what and who with art and design (theory). You'll get introduced to art foundational skills too hopefully. 

As you're already self teaching 3D you'll just continue learning this, the 'how' (tools). 

You'll be an 'artist' that specialises in game art and the main gap in your knowledge would be industry standard best practises for a given genre, which is always evolving anyway.

Good luck.