ChopTop wrote:
[color=blue]
> I'm really wanting to jump ship from my current field of work. I'm 27,
> graduated with a BS in Graphic Communications and have been working in the
> printed graphics field for the last 5 years. I work with apps everyday[/color]
like[color=blue]
> Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. I'm great with computers, but don't have any
> schooling on programming itself, but I'm really wanting to switch to that
> field. My question is from you guys in the field, do I have to go back to
> school and get another BS in Computer Science or should I teach myself C++
> and/or Java and try to get certified? What do companies in the programming
> field require? A BS of any kind with proven skills (i.e. certification),[/color]
or[color=blue]
> do they require schooling in that particular field you are applying for?
> Thanks for any advice on jumping ship 5 years after graduating college.[/color]
This depends on how long your runway is. If you have some savings, return to
college. You will learn if programming feels right, and you will help
prevent recruiters from finding dumb reasons to bounce your resume.
If your runway is short, learn to program using the scripting language in
one of your art programs. I don't know about Photoshop, but Maya, for
example, comes with an irritating but effective scripting language called
MEL.
Another tack is to download open source programmable art tools, like POVray,
and introduce these into your workflow.
These systems will give you a shorter step towards programming. Game shops,
for example, often have a role called "technical artist", whose job is using
these scripting languages to tune the art tools.
--
Phlip
http://www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?ZeekLand 
