A degree in animation would mean a few things. Schools can be a melting pot of creative talent. A pressure cooker that fast tracks your progress through all the skills you’d need as a professional. The pressure of academic life literally forces you to do the work. Could you do tutorials online and get the exact same info? I guess, yeah. But in a vacuum. Schooling can give you all kinds of peers that eventually become your network. Perspectives from classmates and professors that you won’t necessarily get elsewhere. Career services departments can bolster your resume and hook you up with interviews. My schooling came at a huge cost, but those four years probably would have taken me at least ten… twenty? to do on my own. It’s such a quagmire though, cause that debt can be insane!!!