3d graduate decision: NYU or SVA?

[gog]

My name is Benjamin Norcross and I'm graduating in 6 months with a B.S. in Media Arts and Animation from AIC-SD. I would like to hear from both parties concerning the differences (good and bad) in the MS programs of SVA and NYU. I'd like to keep 3D animation as a professional career path. I would appreciate any and all comments very very much.

thanks for the input,
benjamin

[munich]

yo man i dont know nothing about the schools your talking about, being from new zealand and all (yeah yeah middle earth.....) anyways, when it comes down to it, the people interviewing you for a job, are gonna be lookin at your work, they wont care if you even went to school if you got mad skills. so really its up to you in my opinion, your gonna get a job based on your work, the animation industry is one of the few where its more what you know not who you know, but i guess it always helps if you know john lasseter....

[greg-jobes]

Hey Benjamin, I too attended AICA- SD. I graduated in September 2004 with a Media Arts and Animation degree. I totally agree with the last posting. It is all about your skillz. people you know, and how well you work with others. Best advice I can give is this, figure out what specifically you want to do and build your portfolio around that. It is surprising how many people have graduated from AI that have not found a job yet. I think it is due to the fact that most believed they could get a job based on their degree, rather than their portfolio... Anyhoo, good luck man. Oh, and tell Sam Spigelman Jose says hi.
Late'

[bendingiscool]

lucky you, i wish i have those things in my country *-)

[bendingiscool]

lucky you, i wish i have those things in my country

[gog]

hey there Jose. I hope all is well with you and the job up at Sammy. I know you did the intership at Sony, I'm there now and I was wondering if Janelle had called you about another contract with them for an upcoming project. She was asking for you specifically.

I too agree with ateTrack's post. I went to a recent grad-fest and saw a lot of the student work. The most successful show of student work was, like you said, when they narrowed the focus to one or two things. I saw a lot of people touting that they could do everything but the work I saw was I would say a good effort. I did learn a lot about the presentation aspect.

Sam says hello.
take it easy bud

[gog]

mayaTitan, I agree, life can be a bitch and I was fortunate enough to live in a country in which the only worry we have is not getting fat. What country are you from?

norkb

[gog]

For the information of all who are interested in a masters degree program, who are in my situation (e.g. graduate from a trade school and wanting a masters) NYU doesn't recognize a degree from a non traditional unversity system. I assume that to be the case for all state universities but I had my sites on New York. The School of Visual Arts will happily accept the degree though. The long and short of it being that if I want to get a masters from a school in NYC it will have to be SVA.

[heron2]

Dear Ben,
If you would like to waste 40K on a master's degree and land yourself hopelessly in debt like I did, then go to NYU. From my personal experience, the people running the program have no clue or background about the industry and they usually ignore the people on the staff who do. For the record, they also treat their alumni terrible - something most perspective students forget to inquire about before they write the first tuition check. Their few real hiring contacts in the industry are reserved for the very few who know how to market themselves to the clueless administration. Normally I would say go to SVA because at least they respect artists there, but Ironically, SVA graduates I know say they're not happy with their program either. It almost seems like higher education for visual effects is a scam...

Chances are, if you've already studied animation at the undergraduate level, you already have more experience than most people graduating from the NYU program anyway. Best bet for you might be to go to a "finishing school" like Gnomon, where they have real contacts in the industry and you can get constructive, honest critiques on your work, or land a good internship in a New York post house instead. If you want to work in the film business, don't wait for a master's degree, head west now....

Best of luck to you

[bencamm]

Hey Ben,

Here's a quick story from my experience: 12 years ago I thought grad school was the way to go and was accepted to Pratt Institute in Brooklyn for computer graphics. Before my semester is scheduled to start I meet a graphics designer in NYC who gave me the best piece of advice I've ever received: "Screw grad school and get an internship." As I was looking through the curriculum (5 semesters at $5000/ea.), I noticed the last semester was an internship at a company (name not given) which had a relationship with the school. It hit me he was right and I was going to save $25,000. I got a part time job and beat the streets networking and hooked up with a free internship. I got a part-time job to cover costs and 2-3 months later I got my first full-time job with that company. I have been working ever since in NYC post-production community and then moved to doing games out on the West Coast. Many people I knew were trying to do the NYU/SVA/Pratt route and most got burned. You have the greatest resource at your fingertips: you're in NYC!!! There are companies who would be willing to give guys like you an interim chance in exchange for some sweat equity.

Good Luck!

[joojaa]

Yesz but thet was 12 yeasrs ago its much harder to penetrate to the industry nowdays. So youd better have some altternate plan just in case you DONT!

[bencamm]

Very true - having alternate plans are very important. The point of my story is in today's world it doesn't automatically mean $40,000 for grad or relatively-expensive school. It doesn't matter if it's 12 years ago or 12 days ago, the relative difficulty is still the same to get in; in fact, the opportunities to help you are greater. Internships, the internet and on-line training, 6-week schools, CD/DVDs, etc. are all fantastic options. I've yet to work with or for someone or manage an employee who went to grad school. In fact, I've had more people who came from other fields (biology, psychology, chemistry, computer science and even economics). I have also worked with a number of job counselors from schools and most of them were behind the times. Remember, the ingredients needed to make it haven't changed: talent, the right attitude, hard-work, building a network and a willingness to relocate if needed.

[joojaa]

Wouldnt know allmost all education is free from where i come from! wicjh in reverse mens that its allmost impossible to get ANY deecen job here without a good education (abou 40% of my generation has a masters degree or is studying to take one).

There are no guarantees thats why its called life, and thats why theres such things as inssurance policies,

[bencamm]

Wow! Good point if you're not living in the USA. I wish we had those educational benefits.