No.

I'm proud of the degree that I earned in the College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin (at the time, it was one of the top five film schools in the U.S.). It gave me a tremendous sense of accomplishment, greatly satisfied my parents, and the overall college experience taught me how to learn. I wouldn't trade it for anything, and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. But in my opinion, it's definitely not *necessary* to be successful in this industry.

Not nearly as important as a great demo reel.

Thanks everyone for all your great responses!

Yes and No. I got my current full time job thanks to my Master's Degree, but has it really done me that much good? After 14 years I am banking $26,400 after taxes. My freelance business brings in MUCH more, consistently. Its all about your talent and who you meet.

Not at all. Some jobs sensibly require a degree, law and medicine come to mind. Photography \ Videography don't require a degree at all. They require many things, competence, vision, people skills etc. Personally I liked university so much I went back for a second run (first degree in MSD, second in software engineering) but my best job was prior to my first degree when I fluked a job developing \ testing catalysts. I didn't a clue how lucky I was until later and was massively out of my depth, but I got in on the interview and showing passion.

Some of the finest photographers I know have no educational background in photography. can't say for sure on the video front but I would imagine there aren't many more barriers. A degree can help, it can teach you lots, but when I've hired I have looked at experience, passion and temperament over qualifications. I've interviewed enough people with 1st class honours who I wouldn't leave alone in charge of an eraser to know education is very much a secondary measure of someone. Primarily education is a measure of someone's ability to 'sup n 'tup for 3-4 years then panic successfully.

Oh and my degrees? haven't working in the industry in years. Didn't do me any good when i did work in the industry, although to this day I still surprise myself by using skills I learnt at university in other jobs.