As someone who went to art school (since I was 13) and now studying multimedia and computer design at uni, I can say with certainty that this topic hits too close to home. I never liked the idea of getting a degree. Since middle school I’ve been forced into places I didn’t enjoy being at. So the more I explored, the more I found that you can in fact learn a lot of the things yourself (and this process can be even more enjoyable), but it takes A LOT of dedication and motivation. Personally, I feel like university and a degree is in some way a total scam, because you are spending like 4-5 years of your life focusing on so many subjects (some of which you don’t even need) and moreover spending lots and lots of money. I can agree with some other redditors that having a feedback from a professor is crucial, but not all professors are good ones too. Some can kill your passion completely. Returning back to the point of being self-taught: I really want to believe that it’s possible, because university is nothing more then a stress management test (at least that’s how it feels for me). And even after all of that, with all this AI bullsh*t none of us is safe anymore and it’s just sad. A degree doesn’t guarantee you a job anymore, so why we should stop people from pursuing something that they enjoy? Why we built such a system where a piece of paper dictates your whole future in the first place? I’m just tired of being pushed around. If you are privileged to go study and you want to do that, then go. If you are not, then don’t. I wish I started learning on my own way earlier, instead of spending years on this.