[MissMisa]

I'm getting a degree in computer animation at University. It's a sandwich year so that means they will put me in a work placement for a year, so you'll get the skills, a chance to build up your portfolio, work, and a degree. There are many game design industries around this area or ones that are easy to get to from here, because we have a lot of media industries based here.

Research your area and see what is available and what kind of degrees you can get.

As for programs~ ZBrush, Maya, 3DS Max are all good things to learn. Best to concentrate on either Maya or 3DS and then Zbrush.