The single most important attribute you can bring to the table when searching for a job is an inclination to communicate.  Animators that are technically excellent are not rare any more and, anyway, many of the big studios expect to teach a new hire their proprietary software.  I think a lot of any artist's employment prospects have to do with self-image.  Are you a technician?  Or an artist?  Or both?  Are you the contractor that follows the blueprint, or the architect who designs it?

I have personally watched brand new animators land gigs at big studios because of their student animation.  Animation almost crude, but a sensitivity to the human condition and a desire to talk about it.  An artist with strong personal values and a vibrant curiosity is surprisingly difficult to find.  People who can do triple back-flips with Maya, not so difficult.

The market place is tough, don't get me wrong.  But it is definitely doable.  The National Sales Executive Association put out some surprising figures a while back.  Ten percent of salesmen make ninety percent of sales.  What that means is that, if you are seeking employment, it pays to watch the averages.  The same year that Babe Ruth set the record for the most home runs, he also set the record for the most strike-outs.  Something to think about. Good luck!

I've been on hiatus from my animation for 2 years, where as before, with schooling and my time, it was all i could focus on. Once out of school all the issues surface that you have to find a job. You realize you could of been spending your time during school advertising your new skills. And without practice once your out of school you can lose alot of knowledge. Practice is essential.

Commitment is also necessary to passion. But at a professional level it is very difficult to meet the guidelines as a professional animator. Animation has taken so many twists and turns but out in the world it is alot more rigid than working at home however you want, than behind a cubicle, in a busy city where noone knows your name.

Thanks for the post. Let me ask you something else:  Suppose you knew that nobody would ever see your animation, how would that affect your passion?  I'll tell you where I am going with this.  Animation, live action film and stage can all be tracked back 6,000 years to nomadic tribes and a shaman drawing a circle in the dirt.  Had there not been live action film, there would have been no animated film.  All of the arts, including animation, rest on an attempt to communicate an idea to somebody else.  The aesthetic reward is a feeling of psychological visibility.  In other words, when you animate, you are expressing your personal values.  When someone sees your work and laughs or cries, that person is saying to you, "I appreciate your values."  I have heard many people say, "I create my art just for me.  It doesn't matter if anybody ever sees it."  I disagree, although I understand their point.  Artistic expression is not masturbation.  It requires two humans.  By the way, in my Acting for Animators workshops, I do not make people get up and perform.  Stage fright is not an issue.  The workshop was designed specifically for the sensibilities and needs of animators.  Now, if you visit one of my stage-acting classes, that is another matter.  People in there aspire to acting on Broadway or in movies with Johnny Depp.  They ALL want to get up and perform!

Being a recent grad myself, I was lucky enough to find an internship at a wonderful company who I've been with for about a month now. However, I've recently come to realize just what you were explaining in your article.  At this company I've modeled and done a little matte painting - but character animation has always been my passion. I miss it and I don't think I can go much longer without it!

Everytime when I new quarter started at school, the professors would ask us to introduce ourselves and why we were here - why we wanted to animate?  Many answered it was because they've always wanted to do it, but I could not say the same.  Up until my senior year of highschool I didn't even know that animating was possible as a career. My first answer was that I found joy in creating a piece of art and then being able to make it move - and now it's still that and so much more.  Unlike your students - I'm very shy and would freeze up if I were on a stage or in front of a camera.  With animating, it's like being able to act with no restraints - no stage fright!  I also firmly believe in doing what you love and loving what you do. Times are tough and you should do what you can to get by - but I don't see myself doing anything else.

There is not a correlation between talent and financial reward in any of the arts unfortunately.  Van Gogh sold only one painting before he died, I think.  I applaud your integrity and urge you to hang onto it.  Particularly in the U.S., a place where a distinguishing characteristic is that people sell things to one another, it is hard to escape the monetary measure of success.  I travel a lot internationally and am always fascinated by something:  In the U.S., if I meet a stranger and begin a conversation, it is very likely that I will be asked what I "do" within the first five minutes.  In other countries, I have literally talked to people for days before that question came up.  It is difficult being judged for what you "do" rather than who you "are".  The upside is that, if you wear your values on your sleeve for the world to see, there may be some that don't like it -- but you will find others who share those values.  It's worth it. 

A career in the arts is a marathon, not a sprint, Laura.  You will definitely get your first gig if you get up every morning and work at it.  I started out as an actor in New York City, and I thought that if I could just land that first job, the rest would follow and I could relax.  Then I finally got that first job.  And then that job was over, and I looked around for those other jobs that were supposed to flow, and there weren't any.  What I learned is to settle in for the long road.  Don't let rejection discourage you, and don't take too much credit for the victories.  It is all a combination of talent, timing and luck.  Hang in there!

I've recently graduated from school, and frustratingly still unemployed. But inspiration can come desperation, and I've come up with two ideas for features in my down time. That, and the occasional bike ride, is what is keeping me sane. Even though my contacts aren't responding to my politely persistant emails, I know that there will be a job some day.

I've never really cared about making money, as long as I'm doing what I love. That is more of a reward than any pay check. Believe me, I have dreamed of having a state of the art cyntiq and a lot of prismacolor supplies, but I'm doing the best with what I have now, and praying that it'll make do for the time being.

There is nothing that compares to watching/creating animation films and shorts. I can do other things, but they wouldn't satisfy me the way this art does. So in a sense, I can't do anything else.

Excellent post. Whenever I self reflect on my decision to make animation my career, the answer that bubbles up from inside is always 'this is something I cannot NOT do'. It's almost not even a choice - more like a surrender to what's supposed to happen.

I've always had the privilege of a relatively distorted view about money. In my mind, money is disconnected from effort or skill - having seen people rewarded for no effort, and others denied resources even though they sacrifice all. In my mind, money is almost an means of 'enslavement'. If you think the amount of money you make determines your worth or happiness then you're a slave to those that decide how much you should get (your boss, client, the government, etc). The ironic thing is, many people KNOW this, but they don't have the courage to ACT on it - or DEFEND it when the freedom to define yourself by the quality of your work and not by your bank account comes under attack by slick advertising or subliminal media.

So, I am a freelance animator making a very meek income, just enough to keep a roof over my head and my tools up to date. And I will do this until I die - with or without money. To NOT do it would be to kick the goads.