pumpkinking

Cleric, the catch 22 is not really a catch 22 and may only seem that way to students trying to get into the industry. It's akin to a weeder filter, to discourage those who think they are not good enough, companies get more than enough reels and resumes as it is.

Finishing up and obtaining a bachelor's would definitely be something good to have in the back pocket, and I would suggest that any art related field that improves your fundamental art skills would be a good choice.

You haven't really clarified if you even know what area you are interested in getting into. For example, if you are interested in getting into compositing and post effects, then another generic animation program may not be a good choice.

I'd also like to clarify my suggestion regarding the "a la carte" approach. It's not as taxguy would put it, unstructured and learning on one's own. In fact I would argue that it is more structured than a generic computer animation degree and is especially good for those who know what area they want to pursue and want to get right to the point and a job in the industry.

The whole point is that one chooses what courses to take, which of course consist of other students (which often may be working professionals), feedback from professors, etc. One picks the industry related courses most applicable one's goal and at the same time develops content for a demo reel. If there are local community courses or small studio/schools near by offering courses for improving drawing/painting/cg, even better. If the courses suck, quit early and get a refund, and keep looking for better sources of education.
Unlike a university or overpriced art school, one isn't locked into specific courses, programs or professors where you may be shelling out thousands for a not so useful but required class.

Online education programs such as animation mentor don't require you to only be enrolled in their program. That's the beauty of online education, that from the same location you can also be supplementing your education with whatever area you like, whether it be more technical courses on rigging from a place like cgsociety or a modeling course from gnomon. Professionals often enroll in these courses to keep up to date or expand skill sets, and thus you may end up naturally networking and/or helping each other out over the length of the class.

There are some excellent industry professionals and top notch artists either making their knowledge available on the net, or teaching classes for a fraction of the costs of attending a place like Ringling. If you've already had the college experience and know where you're headed it can be a great opportunity.

Cleric626

PK.
I find that you are actually very right in the fact that I have not been clear on what I want to do. So here it is.

I would like to be the creative voice behind the modeling of charters/ character modeler. and dabble a bit in how that said character should move and act. However after achieving this I should also like to own my own animation studio that rivals Pixar, Disney, etc. But this I know is going to take A LOT.

Also I do find myself looking into the gnom. And local art classes even private lessons, along with buying self help books. But my one worry with this is I have a nack for finding that one weird sinario that everyone dreds.

Example;

"Scenario puts you back in your chair dumbfounded wondering how did this result happen after you took all necessary precautions for my render not to go cablooy."

Then after this I have no one to ask or turn too. And I find myself stuff again. Which is why I lean more towards more traditional teachings so that I can go to said mentor and show them my "Cablooy Scenario". And get past my hurdle asap.

pumpkinking

Well, from what you write it sounds to me like there are a few avenues you can set your sights on. Either concept artist/character designer, modeller or animator. If you want to be the creative voice behind something like characters then you would either want to be a character concept artist (in which you would have the most creative freedom), or a lead modeller (in which you may be more of a technical problem solver and less of a creative input over the exact design of characters).
Of course as an animator you would assist in developing the acting style of a character.

Owning your own studio rivaling Disney/Pixar is a rather tall order and most fx studios have trouble even staying barely profitable. And if you are interested in a broader creative control over projects you should definitely look into studying film and/or animation/story.

I think the word you want is "kablooey" =)
Your worry is actually pretty much standard operating procedure in the industry, which is why you have to be fairly proficient at troubleshooting and debugging the technical side of CG if you are interested in pursuing it.

Mamasaur

The daughter of one of my best friends attended the Art Institute in Dallas. It was very, very expensive. She is now a receptionist. They concluded that her time there was a terrible waste of time and money.