Question regarding Education.
polycounter lvl 18
I know the "Do I need a degree?" question has been asked many a time before.
I know that the quality of one's work matters more to most art directors etc than what pieces of paper one holds.
So my question becomes how important is having a college degree once one has been in the industry for a while and is wanting to move into a creative director, producer, studio lead type position? Does it make a difference to upper corporate management, or is the in industry track record and reputation of the individual more important?
I ask because I have gone back to school since last fall, However I am really not learning much if anything in the coursework, as I've done it all before trying to ready myself for a studio position. The tipping point becomes do I spend the next few months out of school and spending the time I would be in class working on bettering my skills directly related to the positions I want, and forgo the degree angle till some later date, or do I continue with school, get the degree with the idea that it may come in handy later, and catch up the techniques later?
I'm leaning toward the former, however I would like to know from those who have been there if I may be shooting myself in the foot in the long term, for the persuit of the short term.
I know that the quality of one's work matters more to most art directors etc than what pieces of paper one holds.
So my question becomes how important is having a college degree once one has been in the industry for a while and is wanting to move into a creative director, producer, studio lead type position? Does it make a difference to upper corporate management, or is the in industry track record and reputation of the individual more important?
I ask because I have gone back to school since last fall, However I am really not learning much if anything in the coursework, as I've done it all before trying to ready myself for a studio position. The tipping point becomes do I spend the next few months out of school and spending the time I would be in class working on bettering my skills directly related to the positions I want, and forgo the degree angle till some later date, or do I continue with school, get the degree with the idea that it may come in handy later, and catch up the techniques later?
I'm leaning toward the former, however I would like to know from those who have been there if I may be shooting myself in the foot in the long term, for the persuit of the short term.
Replies
The long answer is more complicated. A degree is more or less symbolic of your learning process and the things that it implies you learned and accomplished. A degree suggests and ability to stay the course on something. It implies that you have the ability to complete projects once started. It suggests a certain amount of maturity (in a time period where one cannot judge based on age). Which school gave the degree implies a lot of things to a hiring manager. You are potentially lumped in with other graduates of that school ... and that can be both good and bad.
However, the reason for the short answer being no, is that ultimately, your career hinges on you and your abilities, not a university degree. Your portfolio, your personal presentation of your skills, the work ethic they may imply.
If your art skills are such that you are firmly grounded as an artist (mastery of basic principles and skills ... high proficiency at more advanced ideas and processes) and you have solid, journeyman level proficiency at the specific craft skills needed, then further schooling simply to acquire a degree is not needed.
All that ultimately should matter is your portofolio and the skills and experience it implies.
The counterpoint.
How sure are you of your interest, long term, in working in the career field you are currently focusing on? A typical university BA exposes the student to much more than just the classes in his/her major area of study. Having to learn things not focused specifically on art has ultimately been of value to me ... even though my career has focused on art and games since nearly the beginning.
Have you considered that you may simply be attending the wrong school to meet your needs?
I dont want to go to school, But I would like to be a lead someday. Im totally in the camp that talent gets the job. To answer the question I just asked, I dont think any two artists are at the exact same level of artistic skill. Every artist is either better or worse than you. It's an artist personal commitment to be the best and not just "Good enough".
Marcus Dublin
Though,this isn't about the first job in the industry. Its about down the road.
What qualifications does your boss have? His boss? What do they look for when finding a replacement? I plan on being in this field for a good long while, and I don't want to be an art grunt for my entire career.
Paul: You very well may be right that I'm not at the right school. It certainly isn't bad instructor wise, and its really the only thing I have a prayer of affording at the moment.
It seems like it may well be a good idea to follow my intuition, drop college for a bit, show what I'm actually capable of in a good-better portfolio. Get that first job, then pick up a corespondance course for a business degree or something, using my existing credits as electives etc.
Its over simplistic to judge the merits of further education in purely economic terms. There's simply a lot more to it than that.
Does further education matter? There isn't a yes or no answer for all people in all cases. Does it matter specifically in regard to lead/senior positions? Same answer.
This has been discussed countless times on here. Im not going to sit in the yes or no camp, but here's some food for thought:
What qualifications does my boss have? Well, my boss was the exec producer of the project. No further education I dont believe. Probably worked his way up from Q A / test from within the company. His boss? The studio general manager. Probably has a business degree.
Perhaps Im wrong, but you seem to be suggesting a situation whereby If an Art lead left a company, and two internal existing employees of similiar skill levels were in the running for the job, who would be picked? Well, in that case I can tell you that on paper qualifications would be irrelevant.
If you want to work in another country, it will be much harder without a degree.
HR people are usually the first hurdle you meet in trying to get a position in a company. In my experience they are shit at judging reels, so they rely on your resume. Perhaps the one with the degree will end up higher up on the pile than the one without. But perhaps not. Perhaps the one with the bigger list of shipped titles will.
In a nutshell, the anwer is specific to you, and can't be provided by others.
Yes I'm thinking of that type of situation, but also taking into thought the situation of moving from senior artist at one company to Exec Producer or equivelant at another.
I tend to pay attention to the "First gig" type posts, but the later corporate ladder I hadn't seen discussed. I try not to bring back long dead horses to beat.
- I was burned out on school.
- Colleges (at the time) only offered traditional courses, even the art classes where more of what I had already taken. The only way to get the skills I wanted, was to learn them on my own.
- College required me to pay so much when I had so little.
- There are very few things I buy on credit. Cars, houses and other big ticket (often emergency) items I need but can't pay cash for, such as washing machines, water heaters, repairs ect. College is not an emergency and it is not needed to put a roof over my head.
- I would have been required to take 1 year of classes that had no relevancy to the job I was trying to acquire. A year of my life and hard earned cash down the toilet before I was even able to get to the beginner classes.
With the recent advancements in schooling geared toward "technology" and my slightly improved finical situation I wouldn't mind going back as long as they didn't waste my time and money. As soon as guildhall opened its doors I have had dreams of going. But money, location and time seem to always creep up and keep me from going.
One thing to keep in mind MANY jobs pay DOE (Depends On Experience) That little piece of paper can factor in big time when it comes to pay scale. Sure you might get the job without it but they might use the lack of a degree to downgrade your title and pay while making you do the same amount of work.
In the end college is what you make of it, if a drunken orgy is what you are after don't expect it to land you a great job. I think a few too many people watched animal house growing up and expect college to dish out the fun times and the free flowing cash and jobs. "I go to college and its like manna from heaven! Hwat chickz booze and great jobs when the good timez are teh ovar!". Go in with that attitude and you get a job at pizza hut and a mountain of debt. Booze, education and hawt chickz are not cheap.
I think with the industry being what it is, if you can't replace your boss due to "requirements" you can just go start up your own company and be your own boss. Either way it will require an ass load of work to make it to the top of the food chain. It takes a certain type of person to make it there and even some people with college degrees are not cut out to survive in the big pond.