Ten Years and the Reality by Samantha

Ten Years and the Reality by Samantha - March 2025 Scholarship Essay

The future is an ever-changing force with its own set of challenges. Taking the current world status and trying to imagine the future of it isn’t easy. So, after my education, where do I imagine myself? After I receive my bachelor's in art, where do I picture myself? There are two answers to this question: the ideal answer and the realistic answer.
My ideal answer would be to say working in animation. Likely in corporate-style animation creating small advertisements for companies large and small. Chances are I am still more a freelance-style animator taking payment for smaller gigs than anything major, but it’s a good place to start. Considering the ideal I would hope to live in an apartment with a roommate to have some form of independence. My bachelor’s would help me get to this place because I would have a developed portfolio from college containing different types of art that would make me attractive to these places. Assuming as well that I have done some business-based research projects I would also have design qualities that make me more beneficial to companies hiring for their brand.
Yet the above is the ideal. Realistically based on how things are in the animation industry and art as a whole I may not get anywhere. Companies are constantly looking for ways to replace artists. The most popular used example is AI, where, rather than have artists utilize it as a tool corporations try to use generative AI to generate low-quality janky images an artist could have created. Animation is also constantly being threatened due to the whole idea being seen as a money maker through children rather than an art form. Most major animation studios won’t take on projects that harbor a lot of risk, especially ones themed toward adults. As such the quality of animation shifts from being visually pleasing to whatever is faster to produce. Outsourcing is another threat. This isn’t to say I believe people outside the United States shouldn’t have animation jobs. It’s simply the only reason companies outsource is because it’s cheaper than hiring within the country because of differences in labor.
This doesn’t include that with the state of the job industry it might not be possible to find a job. More and more careers regardless of whether they are entry-level positions are requiring impossible requirements for someone trying to kickstart into the industry. This applies even to jobs such as fast food, where some have begun claiming they require a bachelor's degree. Inversely some jobs argue overqualification for the position makes you too qualified. There’s also a growing issue that people just aren’t retiring, whether from a sense of fear of losing identity or not possible with that source of income. This has been leading to difficulties in some positions ever becoming available. Plus there have been rumors of some jobs claiming to be hiring, but not actually hiring, because it provides several internal benefits to the company.
With all the factors truly considered I likely will still live where I do now. I don’t say it with shame. I say it with truth. Though there are system issues when it comes to the workforce, education, and the social world, my degree despite it’s price will prove its worth. If not for finding a job then to have the skills it takes for my dream job.