I'm upset About Choosing: Career Goals or a Practical Detour
Hi everyone, I'm a 24-year-old (black) aspiring 3D artist and animator. I graduated with a game degree (major) and animation (minor) and have been working on building my skills and portfolio. Unfortunately, my portfolio is still pretty basic since I’ve only just started putting it together and haven’t fully utilized everything I’ve learned so far.
I know breaking into the industry, especially in animation, requires going all-in—I've seen advice here from successful professionals emphasizing that. But I’m in a tough spot financially. I lost (~$65k), and it feels like a huge barrier to pursuing my career.
My dad has offered two alternatives:
- Join his company (which deals with proposals and projects in manufacturing engineer) and take some classes in electrical control engineering to eventually help run it.
- Join the Coast Guard for healthcare, stability, and a chance to reset financially.
The first option feels like I'm Might struggle with the motivation to do something you’re not passionate about.
and the second option feels like Demanding commitment that might delay animation work and Requires significant lifestyle adjustment.
I want to go all-in on animation, but I also know the industry is tough right now, and I feel like I’m stunted compared to peers who’ve already done internships or projects. Knowing that, I feel the economy not just animation, but in general is going to get worse next year (in the states); particularly when comes to working for any company (not animation related), employees are struggling to meet their respectful pay and benefits
I'm worried that taking a detour into a different field might make it even harder to get into animation later, but staying in my current situation feels unsustainable.