Does your school degree matter in any way in the games Industry?

TirvasFreeze

I am just really anxious right now with being afraid of my future due to my stupid mistakes, let's say you are an self taught artist currently at a college specialized for a field that is far away from art, for example economy. But you have been working on your portfolio for many years so you have a fairly good one. Is it such a big deal that because of my stupidity I will graduate in a field that is completely not art related and will it affect my job chances? 

I am so anxious that I've ruined my chances because I literally have nothing I could put in my "Education" sector in my Resume that is art related, I've always been told that the only thing that matters is your Portfolio but at the same if I look at any other resume from an artist they have all graduated in the field of art..

I would love to hear your advice what I should do now, should I just remove the education sector completely of my resume or just put it inside? How important is your degree in the AAA video games industry?

If possible I would really appreciate any examples of a resume that applies to my situation above, maybe you have been going through the same thing as I do and can give me an example of how a resume should look like.

MikeF

I did plenty of hiring at my last job and education was never on my list of requirements, it was always portfolio first then interview to see if theyd be a good fit.

If youre looking to get hired internationally then a degree becomes more important, but as far as what i looked for in a candidate, it was just about what they could produce. Even in the case of two potential hires with nearly identical skillsets, education wouldnt be the tie breaker but more likely just experience.

As far as showing/removing education on the resume, unless its directly related to what im hiring for it just feels like filler so id always skim past it

ModBlue

Not having an art degree won’t hurt.

NikhilR

Where a game dev school does help is in networking and opportunities in local game dev studios. 
You could also gain employment at studios through referrals from teachers many of whom have game industry experience.

If you graduated from other academic streams, it really is down to you and the studio to leverage your qualifications and skills in studio.
Like with my background in dentistry, this is in my cover letter,

My background in Dental Surgery and patient care has been an asset to enabling precise attention to

detail in 3D art, a disciplined worked ethic, effectively maintaining composure and communication, being

empathic in professional conduct and successfully managing multiple workplace processes.

And luckily I have found employers willing to leverage and see value in this.

One issue you may face is that if a studio's core demographic is largely younger and inexperienced with little to no academic qualifications there may be culture fit issues.
Though generally this might be localised to the art teams.
 Production, HR and management who also take part in the interview process usually have advanced degrees and wider experience in a range of industries, so they would ask for more justification and relevance than simply hiring an artist simply because their portfolio is good.

It does help to specialize and make yourself relevant to a more critical area so your skillset and experience is seen as unique and valuable (hopefully over the long term)