How to Survive and Thrive When Your Uni Course Is Failing You:
By Someone Who Lived It
1. Recognise what your lecturer can’t offer—and accept it.
→ Stop waiting for a miracle. Start working around it.
2. Go outside the course for teaching.
Reach out to former lecturers—especially the good ones.
Even if they’ve left, they might still help if you check in.
Attend industry events, panels, or workshops (even if you're not funded—try to volunteer or go to free ones).
Tap into online learning—YouTube, Skillshare, Domestika, free Discord Q&As, etc.
3. Connect with alumni.
You're one of the only ones. That matters. You’re a potential link to the real world.
4. Join online animation and/or art communities.
Discord servers, Reddit animation threads, art Twitter, etc.
There are thriving peer support spaces out there.
5. Join a collective.
Look for small grassroots or indie animation collectives.
You’ll learn way more from a tight, active collective than from a dead-end uni module.
6. Befriend students in other courses.
Especially courses that have their shit together (illustration, design, etc.).
You can learn workflows, tips, and even share equipment or tutors.
7. Make non-course friends.
If you're socially active, this can seriously help balance out the course’s failures.
If you're more introverted, start with online communities or one-on-one peer chats.
8. If you want a real shot at working in the industry, you’ll have to go beyond uni.
→ Sad but true. Uni is the base—you build the real structure yourself.
