what would be the best animation software to start with?

Many years ago I started by making my own animated films. People saw them and pretty soon I got work. There are great suggestions for software above, and I can only add from experience that the business changes a lot but basics are the same: timing, follow through, overlapping action, stretch and squash. Many years ago the great British animator Harold Whitaker wrote "Timing For Animation" which is still in print because the principles are so relevant to every kind of animation. You should learn 2-D as well as 3-D because there are important areas to learn in both which will always be valuable. Take drawing courses in school, especially life drawing and anatomy so you understand the human figure and how it moves. And above all make your own art every spare minute. Many people will see your work on the internet and if you are passionate about it and a good story teller they will notice you. Be aware though that animation is not always a stable career so a lot depends on your reputation. The entertainment business goes from show to show and networking and making friends will keep you busy.

I am a huge fan of the Autodesk suite of 3D tools and use them every day at work. I also have taught 3D modeling and animation at the university level for 16 years. That said, learning Maya is a good idea as it one of the big two 3D softwares used across many industries in the world. But coming from an educational background, I would suggest that you start with 3D Studio Max in learning 3D. 3D Max is as powerful and feature-rich as Maya (they are made by the same company) but as I've used both for years, fundamentally Max is easier to understand from a user-interface standpoint. Maya's learning curve is a bit steeper learning from scratch. That said, once you have spent time in 3DS Max and feel comfortable, it is much easier at that point to transition to Maya. Simply put, the beginning concepts in 3D are simply more accessible in 3D Studio Max and the interface is super-conductive to a logical left-to-right top-to-bottom approach to thinking. In terms of the current user base, most games are still made in Max and most movies are done with Maya. Both vice versa is also done by many studios.

Some schools/students have free access to both 3D software at the Autodesk website for educational use, so look into that as well.

Hope that helps.
-kip

https://www.bloopanimation.com/animation-for-beginners
This is a great beginners site , it can walk you through some stuff. It all depends on how old you are , some is designed for students . U-Tube has some abilities to learn from and most school programs have simple ones. Photoshop has one and Flash. Professionals and college students use Maya. Google what is being used for your age group and there are many free downloadable ones to try.

https://www.toonboom.com/products/harmony
When I first did animation, I used Adobe Flash. But I heard that Toon Boom Animation is highly recommended for aspiring animators--both beginners and experienced artists alike. Even a great amount of animation studios use Toon Boom Harmony software to create their animated tv shows that we all know and love. Toon Boom is similar to Adobe Flash, but a little bit advanced. But hey--practice makes perfect and all the hard work will pay off with such amazing animation artwork!

Autodesk Maya 3D animation software offers an extensive creative feature set for 3D computer animation, modeling, visual effects, rendering, and compositing. Maya is used at a begininng level at some colleges. If you have google then google this okay there are free software programs too for you if you can not afford one. So make sure to go look to see the one you may want to start to use. Great field they need 3D animation right now for films. Creative and fun. Good luck

Great advice above. I would also recommend looking at some Disney book, "The Illusion of Life" is an animators dream and a must if you want to be an animator. It's a great practice to understand the basic principles of animation and what is behind all the 3D software. Being a traditional Animator, your greatest weapon is your knowledge of how animation is created. Learning software programs is wonderful but they're all just tools. Maya in the hands of an average artist or even beginner level animator, won't help you. Research, watch animated shorts, discover different styles, watch work that inspires you. If you can't draw, ok, well, at least try to understand the creation behind it or begin some basic line work. There's so much out there and just dive in, create a story, write it down, work it out and then make it happen. Good luck.