I have considered off and on going to art school like FIT or Miami Ad School, etc. I am self-taught and pretty confident in my skill. The reason I thought about art school is just for contacts and networking. I have been told that it is much easier to get into high-end commercial stuff by getting plugged into an agency, or the like, by using the schools resources - like an internship or job placement to get "in". Any of you go to art school, if so, was it worth the $20-$40,000 ?

I went to the Art Institute for graphic design for one year and it wasn't worth 1/4 of the money I paid. I actually had a deal too because it wasn't the Art Institute at first, the school was bought by that corporation, so I was paying half of the full amount the new students were paying.

Honestly, I learned more from 1 day seminars then I did in a quarter of classes. In fact I had to take a photo class and I knew more than the teacher, people were asking me for answers The friends I met were the best part of the school but most went on to collect their 4 year degrees and none are currently working in the industry!!! That should tell you a lot about the so called networking they were supposed to hook you up with.

Wow - That bad, huh? Lets see if there are any positive experiences...

I went for my Visual Communications degree too, cuz I thought I wanted to be a comicbook artist...

Well, most art schools seem to groom folks for desktop publishing more than anything else these days, and dont really do anything for photography oriented people.

I ended up on the digital video track just because it was more interesting than using Adobe Illustrator to create single-page ads all day long...

Luckily, to prepare us for meeting "Art Directors" and dealing with studio photographers in creating ads, we had to take a basic photography class that started us out with Canon AE-1s and a darkroom, and ended with us in a fully outfitted studio using strobes and Mamiya RB67s, etc...which is what turned me on to photography and changed my life...

edit: 2 years at Collins College of Design...spent the last 6 months of my 18 month program as the assistant to the senior photography instructor.

Hey buddy! I'm in art school right now actually. I enrolled into an art school to major in painting, because I've been painting my whole life and I'm rather good at it- so i figured it would be ideal to go to school for.
All i've learned- if you're good at what you do, don't go to art school. Often they try to break you down and build you back up into what they'd like you to be. I know the piece of paper looks good when you're done-but it doesnt mean much when you're already good at what you do.
Granted, there are ALWAYS new things to learn-but it'll be a royal headache and waste of money if you're already skilled and experienced.
That's just my two cents.

Your skils are excellent! You would be far better off investing in yourself with a 2 year 20-$40,000 marketing campaign in New York, Chicago and LA. As for contacts, nothing beats assisting for great photographers in those cities at the same time. .It's amazing what you can do in just one week...

BFA from RIT here.  The degree itself is helpful because it makes me sound smarter than I am, but the education wasn't worth the money.  And they don't do shit to get you contacts in the industry or job placement or anything.  You're better off learning from books and experimentation and networking on your own.  Save yourself $100 grand.

Oh, and as an afterthough: I'm 6 months out of school now and have been spending every bit of that time un-learning half of the crap they taught.

2 years at Parsons the New School in New York, closing in on the 4th year at Columbia College Chicago ( but I took 2 breaks to refresh my self...)

Go to school for:

1) legitimacy

2) networking

3) access to euquipment, studio, digital equipment, etc.

4) if you are seeking a degree you will be asked to take classes like art history, some art classes ( drawing and composition, painting, sculpture, etc- i took all of that.) and then there are general education classes. so it's not all about being a photographer- it's also about being well rounded.

5) we can argue re: gwc's vs photogs for days, months, years- the gwc friend that i had owned an expensive camera and had no real knowledge of how to use it. he had no idea how to price anything. his lighting and eye were good ( he took workshops) but...the lessons that are learned from being in class with your peers, hearing their stories, going out and learning the ropes, going through portfolio reviews, getting a good grade or a kudo mmm- just the rites of passage involved weren't there for him. the REALITY that this is a job/profession/career was not here for him. i had hoped to teach him, but found that underneath was the idea that what we do is play. even when i am goofing and testing- i know that my images have worth.

*if someone came with that dream job tomorrow- i know for a fact that i could handle it, and if i couldn't i have some phone numbers and email addreses of instructors etc to help me out...i'm not alone and winging it.i'm not GUESSING.

*i think that when you've spent $100,000 (not counting film, mats, portfolios, paper, time, etc) and x amount of years studying and working towards graduation, learned to take rejection and praise equally well, and learned to own your work and believe in it's validity...then it's worth it and will benefit you even if you decide to earn your living some other way.

Current student at Sam Houston State University in Texas. Double major, photography and graphic Design. It's been worth it, so far, I do not expect to learn everything from my classes but I do expect and am learning the basics of color theory, composition, different medias (alternative photo), fancy language, looking at others work, art history which i consider really important since i find it very inspiring, etc.

Yup, totally worth it every cent, plus if I am not able to survive as a photographer I rather apply for a job having a bachelors degree than just my high school graduation (and I know i'm going to be stoned for what I just said, so bring it on, haha)

crap, after all that i forgot one thing- when you leave? if you really hated it? you can say you were self-taught...LOL!