not sure what to do. finished first year

Hi, I am 20 year old and I finished my first year of computer animation but having doubts of this degree and wondering what wonder be the better direction for the type of future I want to head towards. I went into this degree because I just felt like that's what I wanted to do at the time and that it was the right choice but now I'm worried about what's going to happen after the degree and how it would be work in this sort of industry because I know how competitive it is and how the pay isn't great. Because the type of future I want to aim for is to do something that is more secure and pays better so I'm just unsure if what I'm doing is right for me now. Computer animation is fine and I've been finding it easy but makes me wonder if it's worth doing it. If didn't do computer animation, I would have gone into something in Information technology. I'm alright at maths as I have an A in alevel if that helps you understand what I good at. The choices I'm thinking of are:

continue the degree and aim to get a first class and just see what the future will be like after the degree. Maybe also do some other course along the side but not sure what to do.

apply for another degree but the way the UK loan system works, it would means that I will most likely have to repay double the loan and for longer as I will be moved to the new payment plan (plan 5) that was introduced this year. I am on plan 2 right now so I'm wondering if it's just better to stay on this course since I'm good at it. The worst case is moving to another degree and I hate it and end up wasting more money.

finish the degree and do a masters in something

drop the degree and get into an apprenticeship or something else

another choice I'm not thinking off

Thanks for reading. I'm just unsure right now.

Reply 1

amandaholten

Well, I can see there's a range of different routes you can go.
I am also 20 and thinking about quitting university because I feel that I want to do something completely different. I have been having doubts about it for around a year now and have finally decided that I need to do something about it.
When doing a degree, I've learnt that having doubts can get in the middle of things and make your work ethic slowly decrease because you gradually start disliking what you're doing more and more.
However, any degree is going to be respected by an employer regardless of whether it relates to the industry you're hoping to go into. It's if you're going to enjoy the last couple of years and really put work into it. Doing another course alongside a degree will be too stressful and it will probably leave you feeling more stressed than ever.
Ask yourself if you're enjoying the degree and if your doubts are going to play a role in having no work ethic.

Reply 2

Clearing and Applications Advisor

If you're enjoying the course content then I would say stick with it but look into getting broader IT experience through codeacademy and work placements. IT jobs don't normally look for IT graduates - they look for people with relevant experience and the right skill set which is perfectly possible to get in your current degree :smile:

Plus having that broader experience won't hurt your employability if you do decide to stick with animation roles - not everyone goes into matchmove and roto roles, there's a whole range of possibilities out there where having some extra coding skills and the ability to speak IT and translate between teams will be a huge benefit. If you're able to get some training and experience in agile project management then even better.