I'm not sure I'm afraid... I started programming when I was quite young, and have always been interested in it, and in terms of the VFX / Graphics industry, I've only been involved in that for the past 10 years, before that I was in other industries, so I really stumbled into doing it.
All the graphics / VFX knowledge I now have is self-taught (other than learning off colleagues) as well as experience working in the industry.
I'd say learning how to program is a good starting point, if you are really interested in graphics it's probably a good idea move into low-level programming (C,C++,CUDA) that's used in the HPC realm, because often the code will need to be extremely optimised. However, you can still do cool things in a higher-level language.
There are high-intensity 6-month VFX training programs at art schools where you learn the full pipeline. I don't think most VFX people know much programming, but it can be helpful in certain situations.
Im actually a lot more interested in rendering and the programming side of graphics. Its just wherever I search I can't find a clear cut path for this ... this isn't something I want to transition into next year - fundamentally I want to understand the systems of rendering and probably transition in into a consultant of sorts in the graphics field. Im sorry I know its vague... but I can't be more clear either
The Applied Mathematics program at UCLA (and others I'm sure) have produced many CG researchers under the direction of Joseph Teran. I'm sure there are many other great programs and professors; this is just one that I know about from colleagues that have gone through the program.
All the graphics / VFX knowledge I now have is self-taught (other than learning off colleagues) as well as experience working in the industry.
I'd say learning how to program is a good starting point, if you are really interested in graphics it's probably a good idea move into low-level programming (C,C++,CUDA) that's used in the HPC realm, because often the code will need to be extremely optimised. However, you can still do cool things in a higher-level language.