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what are some downfalls of working as an animator

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Sethu’s Answer

Animation is a very exciting and rewarding career. You will enjoy if you are creative, good storyteller, good in communication, good at tools/technology, and agile and quick in work and response. Patience is required, not forcing yourself to a fast track growth path. I had considered animation once but did not go. Not because of downsides but because I had a well paying IT job.

Not to discourage you at all. Writing here only because you asked :)
Downsides are like in many other industries:
- work long hours
- be available when client wants
. Night and weekend deadlines
- agreement with peers and managers even if you are better expert than them
- lesser opportunities and industry growth. See Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.
- setup in a company could be a one boss show. Everyone agreeing and doing what a single person instructs.
- expensive investment if you want to be self employed, considering equipment and gaining clients as well.
- patience with iterative work. Ideas and wants keep changing till there is perfection.
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Brandon’s Answer

A lot of the time you would work long hours in order to meet certain deadlines. Most of the time that would lead you to working extra hours in order to accomplish the job at hand. This can often lead to struggles in talking to the employer, where tensions will rise depending on where you are on the project. If you are self employed (working as a freelancer) that can also be difficult because you have to pay for your own supplies and make sure that all of your equipment is in peak condition. There are some animators who are very successful in the field, but some also have many failures. You have to be motivated in order to keep pushing at the job and let everybody else see your craft in the field.
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Melissa’s Answer

I would like to add that this depends on if you're an independent contributor, own your own business/freelance, or part of a larger team in a company or agency.

The biggest downsides are usually long hours and tight timelines because there aren't a lot of animators on a project, especially in a corporate setting or obviously if it's just you freelancing. The best way to combat this is to be open and honest. For example, "I can get this to you by next Wednesday, but here's what will be missing." Be very upfront about timelines, "I need 15 business days to complete this" etc. And ALWAYS give yourself a buffer. If you think it'll take you 3 days, say 5. It's always better to provide the end result early, but have a backup in case something happens (program crashes - yes this happens). You'll need to be very self-motivated to provide sooner than deadline.
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