I think you need to be brutally honest with him about the nature of the business, game development and visual F/X. I have some contact with students who go to my alma mater, Pratt Institute. I've been very honest with them about how our industry is changing and how tough it might be to make a career of it over the long haul. I've gone so far as to encourage them to look at other areas where they can use their skills in a different industry. It's simple economics, the amount they have to pay back is staggering and I do not envy anyone just coming out of school this year. I think the number one issue a lot of students aren't considering before they choose a school and a career is ROI - Return On Investement. There was a student I knew who wanted to be an architect, and she was considering a school that cost around $40-$50k per year for a 5 year program. I asked her if she knew what kind of money Architects made and she didn't. Knowing many architects personally, I told her what she could expect and explained how long at that salary range it would take to pay back those loans. Before our discussion, no one ever bothered to point this out, and she went away wiser for it.
We've all seen the news, the studios closing or moving to other countries where labor is cheaper, or there is a subsidy to be had. The last several years has been especially tough for freelancers, we tend to really feel the effects of these things faster since our work is solely driven by demand and we're the first to go when things slow down. I think for young people looking to our line of work as being exciting and fun, which it is, but you have to also have them take a good long look at what it takes these days to get your foot in the door. An honest assessment of their skills is also important. Far better to wound their pride a little now rather than leading them down a path where they will find themselves unemployed or so saddled with debt that they regret the decision, maybe both. Not trying to be doom and gloom, but I see what's happening in VFX to be eerily similar to what happened in IT about 10-15 years ago. I'm just not sure how it's going to pan out. On the subject of schools, I haven't heard many good things about Full Sail. Do a quick google search and you'll find a lot of unhappy people who went there. Eric Freelance 3D and VFX animator http://vimeopro.com/user7979713/3d-work On Mon, Jun 17, 2013 at 8:52 AM, Nasser Al-Ostath <mushin....@gmail.com> wrote: > I recommend full sail university ... they are specialized in game dev > > On 17 Jun 2013 14:43, "Paul Griswold" > <pgrisw...@fusiondigitalproductions.com> wrote: >> >> Hi guys, >> >> My daughter's boyfriend has expressed an interest in getting into game >> development. He's just a teenager, so he really doesn't have much of a >> focus yet other than "I want to get into games". >> >> But I told my daughter I'd get some recommendations on things like what he >> should study, good colleges for careers in games, different job >> descriptions, good entry-level positions, etc. >> >> So, I'd love to hear what you guys have to say. Any advice at all would >> be great. >> >> >> Thanks, >> >> Paul >> >
