Having a degree in photography vs experience. How do the hiring prefer?

9 years 7 months ago #402445 by TGonzo
I've been considering some online photography schools, as a possible way to get my photography career started.  Now I read someones older post yesterday that had me thinking.  And this post suggested that experience is more valuable than any piece of paper saying yo have a degree.   

Let me twist this a little and ask what do hiring managers care about?  Piece of paper saying that you have a bonafide photography degree, or do they look at your raw experience and portfolio to make hiring decision?  

It sucks being new at something, I wish I could time warp forward a few years.  Thank you for your help.

Tim


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9 years 7 months ago #402490 by EOS_Fan
Oh experience will always win over degree.  


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9 years 7 months ago #402513 by ubookoo
Everything you need to learn from a technical standpoint is available on YouTube. What YouTube cant give you is actual experience or create a portfolio of your work for you.

Get the basics and then get busy building your portfolio while you discover your style and passion.

You are going to do well!


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9 years 7 months ago #402591 by garyrhook
What "hiring managers"? You need to get trained in business management and marketing. The technical stuff you can learn from online and local classes, by finding a local meetup and a mentor, and by practicing ("how do I get to Carnegie Hall?") a lot. Art class should be on composition. If you have passion for the craft, and drive, you can do everything you need, and accomplish what you want, without a degree.

IMO, of course.


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9 years 7 months ago #402606 by Stealthy Ninja
Depends I suppose. If you're going for a traditional position like at a newspaper, they might like someone with a proper degree, but I'd say most places just want experience and/or a good portfolio.
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9 years 7 months ago #402861 by TGonzo
Thank you for the feedback


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9 years 7 months ago #402883 by Joves
I might add that you may want to make your portfolios genre specific, so if you are applying for a paper, then it needs to be editorial types of shots. They do not care if you can do portraits, or landscape work. 


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9 years 6 months ago #409272 by Karen Russell
 :agree:   experience


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9 years 6 months ago #409463 by Sue Bidwell
Experience will impact a greater photo than a piece of paper


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