I’m in high-school’s last semester and I’ve got to pick my career rather urgently. Basically, I’m stuck between Computer Systems Engineering and Digital Arts.
My biggest concern about picking Digital Arts is whether the demand is high enough to find it hard to find a job after I finish the career.
So, my question here is:
Are Digital Artists highly demanded?
To any digital artist that might be reading this, was it hard for you to find a job? Or did some company call you after being one of the top of your class?
You have no idea how helpful any reply would be.
I’m from Mexico, by the way 
Very first with digital art do you mean sketching or something else, Since I am from past 5 years in this 3D field and I now know from my experience that if you are best than you can get job easily else it will be quite hard. 
So in my view you should first find out that can you do the best work which can be come equal to professionals now or later it don’t matter. So what I mean to say is that what you are doing you should be well enough or good enough that other company can hire you. Some of my friends on internet making about 500 Dollars or more per week. But my bad luck is good enough that I cannot get any job till now hahahahahahahah.
I am not scaring you or discouraging you, I am just putting my views , suggestions and what I have seen in past years that’s it. So it never matter what you choose or select it will matter how much nice and good you can do in that field.
Hope that this helps a little … You will also get Suggestions from other members too.
Thanks in advanced…
Think out of the box when looking for a job. Everyone wants to do cgi for a movie or a game. But there are a lot of other places that digital art can be applied. Sometimes you have to make your own demand by introducing digital art into your job. For example, where I work (making training films) they did not use digital art at all. I slowly introduced it into the environment, and now they can’t live without it.
Then there is freelance… I use several services that allow me to bid for jobs. Unfortunately you end up bidding against other artists that give it away (literally stating their hourly rate as <$10.00/hr). I currently could not do freelance as a living, but it does pay for new toys and vacations.
Check out places like http://mandy.com to get a feel for what might be out there. Even Craigslist has a section that had artistic gigs. (though I would not recommend Craigslist unless you just want experience with little pay…) Get involved with the industry and start networking.
And put a portfolio or show reel together. Digital artists with my skill level are a dime a dozen. If you are not the best, then you have to carve your place out. It’s hard work. But I love my job.
Thanks Sir Place57 
The information you share has helped me, thanks for the share with us.
You could also flip a coin.
If you’re still in high school, you’ve got time to try several different careers before you’re too old to burn the midnight oil. Trick is, pick one and give it all you have. Even if you don’t love it at first, as you become more proficient, you’ll learn to love it. And if that doesn’t happen, try the other.
Say you pick one and give it three to five years to pan out. If it doesn’t, you’re still under 25 and you still have one other choice plus any others you pick up along the way.
Matt Damon studied creative writing; he’s an actor.
Alex Trebek studied philosophy; he’s a game show host.
There are lots of other examples.
@rontarrant I see what you’re saying and I agree, but I don’t think my parents (the ones with the money to pay for the career) would be very happy about me trying different careers without actually knowing what I’m looking for.
But then, I could easily study engineering and after that, get a job to pay for the Digital Arts career. Or I could also become an Engineer and then become a freelance artist by myself. But I don’t think that would make my way to work with a company easy as would the studying Digital Arts.
Gee, I’m getting stressed over here 
@place57 wow, there’s actually quite a bit of companies here over Mexico that just lifted my spirit :3
Then, I guess everything is about working hard to have the best artworks to showcase to people so they want to pay for your services. Quite competitive, isn’t it?
@thehorseman007 Well, I guess that’s why I’ve been peaking into this CG world for a while now. I want to see if I’m passionate about it, if I have the ability to do that everyday, for the rest of my live, to make my living. And I feel, I can. I love creating things. It’s awesome to bring vertices, faces and edges to life. It’s just awesome.
Thank for everything, guys!
Really appreciate the help you just gave
It is a skill getting a job. I saw on TV yesterday a animation for our news" Fox" It was bad ( I see better work here at BA )but somebody paid alot of money for It and I bet Fox new is very happy with it. There is alot of work because I see it every day somebody is doing it.
Or maybe Fox didn’t want to pay a lot for it an that’s what they got xD
In any case, I think it’s all about being remarkable at it so good companies can see you.
I think I’ll give it a try
Point taken. 
If pleasing your parents is important, perhaps engineering is the way to go. It’ll give you a solid background in things technical (a hedged bet against the future, too), give you a good income and allow you the financial independence to save up for any career diversions you might want to make down the road.
I’ve been an actor/artist/musician for most of my life and made the mistake of not getting a degree in something outside the arts, so it’s always been a struggle to maintain an income when the music/art/acting work hit a dry spell (which it always does, no matter how in-demand you are). Early on, I thought the lack of an alternative career would help keep me focused on artistic career goals, but in hindsight, the lack of income far outweighed any benefit I might have enjoyed from that approach.
If you find yourself in a situation similar to mine, you likely won’t mind not owning a car to get to jobs (artistic or otherwise) or not having a nice place to live (assuming your parents decide you need to fend for yourself), living on cheap junk food, not having a gym membership, etc., etc. at least, not at first. If enough time passes, however, it’ll get to you and it may mean the end of artistic aspirations. I suppose none of this will apply if you come out of your artistic training being so hot everyone wants a piece of you, but that’s not something you can count on going in; you won’t know if that’ll happen until AFTER you’re done.
I’ve been fortunate in that every time it looked like my artistic life was over, something’s come along (sometimes I’ve had to wait YEARS, though) that put me back on an artistic path. I’m at a point in my life now where income isn’t a problem, so I’m free to pursue whatever catches my interest, so I suppose it was all worth it, no matter how difficult the journey.
If I had it to do over again starting today, I’d do a double degree: theatre arts and computer science. I’d work for a company as an IT specialist for at least three years, then go consultant/freelance. Once that was up and running (give it two to three years) I’d be in a position where I’d (in theory) have a big chunk of money in the bank and be able to set my own hours. At that point, I’d start pursuing acting and working part-time hours as an IT consultant.
That approach would give me:
- the peace of mind only a solid, controllable income can provide,
- a modicum of freedom to pursue the arts, and
- the ability to wean myself off the IT income as the acting income builds up.
I wish you luck. Once you’ve gathered all the information and opinions in preparation for making this decision, I’d advise you to take an afternoon to go somewhere you can be alone for at least a few hours and mull it all over. Then, pay attention to your dreams. They’re an amazing window onto the unconscious mind and it’s your unconscious mind that will tell you what you need to do.
It’s not that I’m looking to please my parents. It’s just that I don’t think it’s fair that they’ve been supporting my education for about 12 years and then I make them support me more than what’s needed.
But, you know what? You’re right. I’ll go with CSEngineering, and whilst I’m running it, I’ll work on my 3D skills. That’s practically what I’ve been doing all this time: using Blender in my spare-time. So here’s what I’ll do: Study CSE, work hard to be one of the best of the class, give it all I’ve got so I can get a good job while simultaneously practising blender, Maya, etc… ; get a job and, if time is flexible enough, become a freelance artist.
Sounds like a plan
You’re so cool for sharing your experiences @rontarrant . I think that’s what brought back my mind to the ground
Thank you so much for the support!
It’s appreciated as you have no idea
Hey buddy - the reality according to me is that I have had 17 different jobs and I still haven’t found my true calling. What I learnt is that you have to be a jack of all trades to basically suceed in todays world. There can be also be the issue of the luck of the draw. I’m glad that you got folks to help with some study funds, but from what I heard, the trend at the moment is for plumbers, electricians and the likes, manual labor if you like.You need to go where the work is, because the work won’t come to you.If you are good at communication, you will easily get a job as manager. All the best with your choice.