I'm about to change careers from software engineering to

No
Animation is in my opinion a far lesser field than software engineering in terms of career prospects of money, future relevance

It does somewhat depend on what type of animation you're interested in. The vast majority of /ic/ that's interested in animation is interested in 2D frame by frame animation. This type of animation is becoming less and less popular with 3D animation becoming more the norm with animed videos and what's left of 2D is widely outsourced to cheaper countries and oversaturated in that regard.

Also software engineering is a relatively new field and is also over saturated but it has a much brighter future. The general qualification is gives you is valuable to many jobs. You will have a much better chance of building a stable career in software engineering than animation.

In my opinion what you should do is stick with your dayjob but do animation in your spare time and try to do a switch over sometime in however many years so that you're able to do animation and make enough money without ever risking the stability of your life

>>2979070
Whops I forgot to say
If you are interested in 3D animation you probably have a chance in getting a job in that
But I still think software engineering is the more promising field.
Arts tend not to have much money in them unless you're at the top of your field

>>2979070
>>2979075

Great post, thanks; didn't expect to have one like this.

Yeah, I mean, I LOVE both programming and animation, but I must admit I love more animation. I'm in fact studying soft. eng., the thing is that I have come to the conclusion that it is a complete waste of time and resources, since I already know and have worked in programming for companies.

I was thinking of changing to study animation while working part-time in programming related jobs, so I can focus more on my artwork skills and "connections". Eventually I know I can work on IT related jobs since I know and I like it, but I would like to have a structured schooling on animation because that would be fun.

>>2979070
>>2979075

>>2979078

Would like to hear your opinion on that.

>>2979078
Different anon here, but that sounds like a decent plan. If you can always fall back on software programming, you can slowly shift your weight onto animation as you get better at it.

But don't think that a formal education is a necessity. A good portfolio is a necessity, the way how you got it is irrelevant.

>>2979094

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, it sounds decent to me too, but then again the stupid "paper/degree" is something that sometimes gets me thinking.

Is experience more valuable than "the degree"?

And yeah, I know I don't "really need" to get formal education, but, personally, I would like to.

>>2979078
I know the feel
In the grand scheme of things, we should aim to do what makes us happy. Money is just a means to an end and if you die before you reach that end what was the point of it all


But if you try to take a B line straight for your dreams you're going to run headfirst into all the troubles life brings like having money to survive, having time to relax, etc and you will be less prepared to deal with them and get setback (ie having to work a minimum wage job to have enough to buy a computer to work on your passion with and even then only on the weekends because miniumum wage isn't alot of money for the time you put in)

We hear stories all the time of people doing what they love and they succeed but these stories are the rare exception, huge amounts of luck went into their success.
Most people who try to do what they do end up far less close to their goals than if they had done it in the free time of a well paying job that allows time for vacation and generally not as intensive work.

Play it smart, plan your life so that you will have the best chances of achieving your goals.

Knowledge will give you light in the dark labyrinth that is life

>>2979100
Think my friend. Why is a degree important?
To prove to your employer "this guy can get the job done."
In fields like teaching, management, services or accounting it's pretty damn important, 'cause you have nothing to prove that you have a value to offer.

In art, a school is really easy to bullshit your way through it and the employers know that. Why would they look at a piece of paper when you can show your portfolio, i.e. an actual, undeniable proof that you can get the job done?

Go to art school for contacts, to broaden your mind or because you're lost and don't know how to study (which is off the table, because there's literally a goldmine of reference, resources and advice two clicks away in respective threads), but not for the paper, that would be naive.

>>2979078
I agree with >>2979094
Art is a very individualistic and visual field.
Each individual can have a unique art style even in animation

A degree is supposed to say "the user has the skills to do this thing at this level" but that's not enough, it doesn't say anything about your art to an employer. A portfolio not only shows that the user has the relavent skills but goes beyond that and shows exactly what the user can do.

Of course if you get a degree AND build a portfolio you will be better off. Remember it's much easer to get things like a visa and other simillar things with an official degree from a recognized school. The government often doesn't understand that you can get a job without a formal education

But always remember to consider the cost of education. Even the cheapest formal education is more than enough to buy yourself a cintiq, all the art books you need and spend a few years off work

>>2979133
>>2979142

Thanks for the replies.

Well, yeah, I'll eventually get a degree. The thing is that since I would get an "Animation degree", how hard would be to find programming/IT jobs with only "experience" at the end, if I eventually need to?

>>2979070
Does it change anything if it's enrollment in one of the top 20 animation schools worldwide?

>>2979060
If you want to work for Pixar, Disney, or Sony, better get your ass to LA and get enrolled at CalArts. That's who they prefer to hire from.

Competition is fucking fierce, so you better have a good reel.

Animation also pays shit at the low end. Most of the non-premier stuff like Pixar goes overseas, anyway.

Do you even have any idea if you're good at animation? Do you know how it's done? Have you played with any of the free animation apps out there, like Blender? Do you even have a n interest in animation, beyond watching movies? I do - I've been into animation since I first saw a Disney movie. I've studied it on my own. I've read all the books - my most prized book is a copy of Disney: The Illusion Of Life. I know professional animators, who worked at Pixar and Sony. And even with all of my interest in it, I have no interest in doing it.

But go ahead, quit a good job for hopes and dreams. Have fun starving.

>>2979060
i just graduated from an animation college, and prospects are good. the animation industry is in a boom right now, and many studios can't find enough good artists and animators to work on their productions so they're grabbing people left and right and offering good starting salaries. as someone who's just coming out of college, i've gotten a job at a pretty well known animation studio working for about 55k/yr (40k/yr USD). i'm sure that working as a software engineer makes more, but i think it's pretty good for an entry level job.

animation is, the way i see it, one of the biggest and easiest art industries to get into. you can work in TV, on commercials, on features, in games-- there's a lot of opportunities. and despite what some folks may tell you, it's really not as competitive as some would have you believe. if you work hard and have good stuff to show people will be all over you, you don't have to go to CalArts and live in California to get a decent job working with good people. it's very interconnected, too, so if your contract ends on one show it's not hard to get picked up at another studio just as quick.

the people saying that it's not very stable are right, though. right now we're in a boom, but it's not going to last forever. contracts are production based, so once the show you're working on is complete your contract ends too.

>>2979303
What's your plan once the boom ends?

>>2979309
what kinda question is that! i only just got into the industry so it's hard to say, but hopefully keep working, lol. we've been told that studios generally don't like to let people go, they'd rather rotate their employees onto new contracts over hiring fresh blood and have to train them and acclimate them to the studio workflows and production styles and stuff. so the end of a boom is typically only bad for folks trying to get into the industry, not people already in it, from what i understand.

we had a lecture on the animation business and were told that generally the booms last 3-4 years with a downtime of 1-2 years, so they come and go, as with any job. just gotta be lucky and have some savings if things go south.

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I recently changed my trade from painting to programming.
It has been suffering.

Change careers as in you had a job in A and now have a job in B"? If so, well done.

Change careers as in "I was going to uni for A and am now going to uni for B"? LOL

>>2979368

What's the problem with the second context?

>>2979370
because you're not changing careers, you're changing what you're going to school to get a career for. I always see 18 year olds saying they're scientists when they're still in school and volunteer as a labtech assistant. nigga you aren't a scientist. you'll probably be waiting tables in to your 30s.

>>2979060
Yes.

you won't have a chance of doing it later. if you won't do it now, you'll be regreting not have tried for the rest of your life

>>2979443
This guy gets it.

>>2979396

Yeah, what's the problem though? Also, while I'm don't have of course a "career" on programming, I pretty comfortable working on it. I'm seeking the so called "college experience" studying something that fulfills me more. I get your post, but I don't see what's "bad" on it.

>>2979443
>>2979444

I know, but I'm seeking like opinions, not instructions, about this. It has more to do with finding satisfaction on my life. Like I said, going to school for a soft. eng. is quite stupid; I could write an essay about why it is useless, specifically for that degree. That or maybe I just hate that school.

>>2979489
Please write this essay so I can show other people.

>>2979060
Eh. Do you know how to draw? Sure following your dream is good but you also need roof over your head, food on your table and money for the electricity bill. Programming gives you a good income pretty fast but animation is a long hard struggle to turn into a satisfying thing that you can make a living of.

If you can stomach programming then I would recommend you do that while learn animation as a hobby. Then at a later date you will be able to make a more qualified judgement on which path to choose and have the financial backing to make that choice without getting in debt in order to finance it.

>>2979070
2d is actually gaining in popularity recently but will always lag behind 3d

>>2979060
Computer Science, computer engineering, software engineering--all of those fields are in a bloat right now and there's no shortage of people for those positions. If you get a degree in that, you're going to have to go to great lengths to stand out. From what I've seen, people in those fields either build their own application and sell it, or work in IT at some company doing something. Even if you have experience programming, you probably can't get a job as some IT guy without a degree, because there will be ten people with a degree jumping and the ankles of that opportunity. The engineering job fairs I've attended have a ration of maybe 20 Indian compeng/compsci guys to 1 other engineering student.
My boyfriend is having a slightly related issue. He's a pretty decent artist (digital painting), however he didn't go to school for it which hinders his ability to apply for jobs. Most jobs now a days are all electronically submitted such that if you have a bad GPA or you don't have a degree, you get sorted right into the electronic trashcan. If you're going in on experience alone you need to have some pretty strong connections. A lot of jobs will say bachelor's degree OR 10 years experience with GED OR 5+ with associates degree.
I think it's beneficial to possibly stay on that track you're on and study animation in your spare time. I can even see someone like you maybe even putting your animation and programming skills together you can make the next candy crush--or building websites or something.
I just graduated in chemical engineering so I'm a bit biased to stick with engineering. There's more job security and you can go anywhere. There's also the ability to rise up the ranks and become the likes of a CIO or upper IT management if you go and get a master's in business after university. A lot of companies will pay you to go and complete your business degree after you land a job with them because it's in their best interest to employ higher skilled workers.

>>2979741
That's terrifying, what kind of jobs has he been applying to that require a degree?

>>2979751
Interested in that too

>>2979751
From what I've been looking at it's a good majority of them that are posted on job board websites requiring some form of degree or at least several years of customer-based experience. Who knows if they'll even deem your experience worthy enough to be comparable to other applicants.
Think about the number of people getting art-related degrees every year and in addition to that the number of people getting degrees has drastically increased over the years leading to an over-saturation of bachelor's degrees that has diminished the value of a degree in America. All those ITT Tech type places have made some degrees pretty much worthless. I have a friend that went to one of those places (didn't finish because the school went bankrupt) and he is a below average artist who thinks he's hot shit. He tried to use his high school art teacher's connections to get into CalArts after the trade school went under and while they accepted him into the school, he sure as hell didn't get into the art program. My university wouldn't even let non college of design students take art classes because the COD was so exclusive and it's not like it's SCAD or anything--I'm mentioning this because it'll probably take an additional two or three years to even complete an art degree after switching. Even if you think you can get your humanities out of the way, different programs make you take specific degree-related electives so most of the courses you've taken so far will only add to your amount of taken credits. If you go over a certain amount of credits, they will make you pay at least 125% of the tuition cost/credit-hour for each additional hour taken. So if you aren't going to finish the path you're on, at least get far enough to maybe get a minor in it so it saves you money.
(1/?)

>>2979751
>>2980173
I like to ramble so excuse me, but back to what I've seen on job posting websites.
I was looking at various job board websites in both the US and the UK (LDR) until he got mad at me and told me he'd job search for himself. He's reassured me that the jobs that are on ArtStation are not like that and that they'll look at your portfolio if you apply. He wants to work in the game industry which in my opinion is maybe a little difficult to start in and from what I've seen they're mostly looking for people that can do 3D art and something like a background artist or a concept artist is a bit harder to come by.
As far as artists being hired by regular companies, they maybe hire a team of one to three people depending on the size of the company to do pretty much everything. YouTube promotional videos, PowerPoint decks, presentation video cast set ups, website layout, you name it. A company I interned with had one guy that went around the country or teleworked to do all these things. His desk was filled up with comic memorabilia so I wonder if that's what he really wanted to do. One posting I just saw was looking for "someone to assist with the marketing team", so that's pretty much what that guy did.
A lot of these positions do say "or equivalent experience", but in my opinion it is a bit easier to flub a bit and say "oh yeah I can do this obscure task you specified on your job posting because you have no idea what I've done in some class I took three years ago" rather than, in my boyfriend's case, just having done illustrations at a pretty decently good level but it's not like he's popular and getting a lot of commissions. A degree pushes you to do a little bit everything. Graphic artists are going to do some CSS; concept artists are going to do some 3D modelling and unless you personally take the initiative to learn these things yourself, it's going to be more difficult to showcase your talents.
(2/?)

>>2980193

I want to add that your bf is lucky to have a supportive gf like you.

Please go on.

>>2979060
If you think this is a good move you clearly don't have the intelligence for software engineering. I say go for it!

OU PEE here.

I want to thank you all for your pov, I'm checking each one of them so I could have a better decision.

Thanks, you're making my /ic/ier.

>>2980193
Also, like any job, art related jobs are heavily dependent on the location. For animation, you'd be stuck in California or you'd have to go to Canada or France. The number of art related jobs in CA is almost four times the number in my state.
https://www.ziprecruiter.com/job/6817d66c Here's an example job in the UK that is really just asking for a jack of all trades in addition to a degree, they also want experience on top of that doing the specific thing they're hiring for. You've probably heard about this quite a lot and the reason companies do this is because they don't want to have to pay to train you.
www.cwjobs.co.uk/job/73769059 here's another one for instance, looking for someone that can do a multitude of different tasks.
Now my boyfriend hasn't been applying to jobs because he thinks he's not ready. I told him too bad. I told him that if he wants to live with me, he needs to get a job that has an office in America and be able to transfer there after a period of time. That way they can sponsor him a work visa. I think he's pretty good art-wise, but he's no KNKL or anything. There's clearly areas where he's not as polished and in my opinion he needs to develop a more unique style that isn't so close to Blizzard's, and also to develop several portfolio pieces that cater to different types of positions. A bit of typography here, ten illustrative pieces with interesting compositions there, some landscape pieces, some character design art and some isometric stuff--those kinds of things. Unfortunately, he maybe has one or two really nicely polished works that I would consider even putting into a portfolio.
With art jobs you also run into lots of unpaid internships and positions because they actually allow you to do that in the US. I've seen several of those ask for a degree or an in-progress degree and offer only experience in exchange. In my opinion those are okay to take if it's less than 20 minutes from your house and you live with your parents.

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>>2979741
>>2980173
>>2980193
>>2980222
Nice blog, would love to read more meandering walls of text about what your boyfriend may or may not be considering doing with his non-existent art career!

if you don't care about being poor yes

>>2980222
>yfw live in CA
Feels good

I love this thread,

>>2979070
Best path.
I'm doing this as well : studying CS & doing my passion on the side. This way I'll still be able to pay the bills & do what I like... :)

>>2979741
>Computer Science, computer engineering, software engineering--all of those fields are in a bloat right now

Once again (I repeat myself a lot these days) it depends on the location. Here in Belgium they're crying for help, while you americans are full (and even then, there's some places in the USA in need of computer scientists). If there's a bloat where you are (or they recruit tons of "pajeet", like /pol/ & /g/ say), don't be afraid to move elsewhere!!