I have heard stories of kids getting “plucked” out of programs to go work at major players in the Animation World. What would you encourage your young artist to do? Go for it?? Finish degree? Grab the brass ring? How important is a degree if you have a job under your belt?
Depends on the job and major player. I would wonder though what would happen if you wanted to get training later on that might come in a Masters degree if you don’t have a diploma in hand already.
Many jobs in animation are short term contract basis so while you get that first great job without a degree doesn’t mean the second one will be easy to obtain without one.
There are people though that are truly talented and maybe don’t need the degree to succeed. But I think even companies that used to hire strictly on talent look more at that piece of paper than they did in the past.
They may be “plucked” out of programs because a project is behind schedule and wants talented, enthusiastic people at low cost. In these circumstances, if the opportunity did seem fabulous, I would try to treat it as an internship/co-op that would allow the student to resume their academic program after a fixed period of time.