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[title]If you are a veteran or active duty service member looking to take advantage of some of the benefits and support services you’ve accrued as a result of your time in the military, you may want to consider enrolling in a professional development course aimed at helping you quickly develop the skills you need to return to civilian life qualified for a high-paying and in-demand career. This article aims to help veterans understand why they would want to learn After Effects and motion graphics skills, how they can learn these skills at an accelerated pace, and what support options are available to veterans looking to become motion graphics professionals.
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Why should veterans consider learning After Effects?
The most obvious reason that veterans would want to learn After Effects is to find a job in the animation or digital design industries, which are increasingly becoming high-demand jobs as the technology that is utilized becomes cheaper and cheaper (and as computing power increases and what would have previously been prohibitively expensive becomes something anyone can do from home). This demand is reflected in the wages that skilled motion graphics artists receive for their work. The median salary for these positions in the US is around $98,000 annually, with regional variance in line with other professions (the higher the cost of living in your area, the more you can expect to earn on average). While the bulk of these professionals are employed in Los Angeles, veterans from all over the country can find jobs in the field with a bit of training and some focused support.
The most common industry hiring After Effects professionals is, unsurprisingly, the media, with film and television making up the bulk of these jobs (while entertainment media is the most common employer, other media outlets like online content creation and news media outlets are always looking for skilled animators). These professionals will find themselves working on post-production digital effects that range from basic tools like the digital erasure of brand logos from clothing and replacement effects for screens and displays to complex projects like explosive particle effects on VFX projects or even the complete digital construction of monsters, alien races or superhero costumes. If you are interested in working on the technical side of film and television and you want to learn how to do it with a touch of creativity, special effects animation might be the field for you.
Veterans can also find work in a wide range of other industries that utilize this kind of digital creativity. The advertising industry regularly employs professionals with animation skills even for traditional digital ads (it is an animator who is going to handle the process of adding, for example, the disclaimers and fine print to a commercial or superimposing a brand logo title card at the end of a digital ad). Animation is also utilized in almost every field that hinges on visual communication, if only because it is a more effective and complex way to communicate with a mass audience. This means that animation is leveraged by institutions (including the military), businesses, nonprofits and public agencies, so regardless of the field you want to work in, it is likely that you can find After Effects-related work.
After Effects is also a useful tool for anyone with creative aspirations to learn. If you want to make your own content, be it animated or otherwise, learning how After Effects can be integrated into the process is a valuable skill. It has become easier than ever to produce your own digital content, but the market has become significantly more crowded than ever before, so learning how to make it look as professional as possible is an important part of getting your work to stand out.
Support for veterans looking to learn After Effects
As veterans, you stand to receive benefits that will help pay for tuition, materials, and even room and board for in-person training courses approved by the VA. This includes professional certificate classes that teach students how to utilize applications like After Effects in a variety of real-world job scenarios. In order to be approved by the VA for support, these training providers must demonstrate that they have a track record of success in placing veterans in jobs upon graduating, and they need to demonstrate that they are constantly updating and refining their curriculum to account for the present realities of the job market. This means that any service approved by the VA will offer students career-support services such as alumni networking, job placement support, or one-on-one mentorship in career-focused contexts.
An overview of VA benefits for After Effects training
- Chapter 33 (Post-9/11 GI Bill®): Can provide up to 36 months of benefits, including tuition for approved programs, a housing allowance for in-person training, and a stipend for supplies.
- Chapter 31 (Veteran Readiness and Employment): May offer up to 48 months of support for veterans with service-connected disabilities by covering tuition and books and providing a monthly allowance.
- Chapter 35 (Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance): This benefit is for qualified spouses and dependents of veterans. It provides education funding for college and career training-approved programs.
- Chapter 33 Tuition Assistance Top-Up: You may be able to use this option to supplement your Department of Defense Tuition Assistance to cover the full cost of tuition using GI Bill benefits.
- Chapter 30 ($600 Montgomery GI Bill Buy-Up Program): An optional one-time contribution that can increase your monthly benefit amount. Note that this benefit cannot be combined with the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
These services will vary from program to program, but you can be assured that any VA-approved program aims to provide veterans with all of the tools that they need in order to find success in visual design and motion graphics. Some of the support options offered through the Forever GI Bill may not cover the entire cost of a course, nor are all classes approved for all veterans, so be sure to check with your local VA office to see what kind of services and support you qualify for.