This is a talk from Nick Campbell (from Digital Kitchen, amongst other things) from MGFest in Chicago last month. Me and Ileia were at this panel and it's a really good presentation for any of you interested in getting into the motion graphics/design industry. Lots of interesting points that might be obvious to some people, but also just some things that you wouldn't have really thought about. I think the big primary point about the whole thing is "learning the things that don't change," such as traditional graphic design, typography, color, etc. Learning the technical aspects of After Effects, Maya, Cinema4D, etc. is great, but unless you understand how to creatively implement them and be a good designer, it's not going to get you very far. The studios that do the kind of work you'd want to get into (DK, The Mill, Lift, MK12, etc.) can teach you how to use the software. You need to bring the design aesthetics to the table to actually be noticed.
EDIT: Jay thought how I originally worded the last bit was misleading, so I fixed
