what do you think would be more profitable, Being great in Maya? or AE

[Dave Morgan]

what do you think would be more profitable, Being really great in Maya? or really great in After Effects?

could depend on where you live, not sure. any opinions?

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

they are like chalk and cheese bro.
Maya is for 3D, After Effects is a compositing software.

If it's a career option, my suggestion is study Maya thoroughly (if it really interests you - because it can get quite complicated).

After Effects can be mastered easily without training. You can learn it by using just the help section all by yourself.
Hope it helps.

[John Wiley]

Which one do you enjoy more?

Whatever one you enjoy doing most is the one which will be most rewarding. Given the extra effort you'll likely put into learning and perfecting your craft if you actually have fun with your work, then this might also end up being the more successful and profitable choice as well.

[Nick Jushchyshyn]

Your question isn't too far from something like "What would be more profitable, real estate or interior design?"

The two are somewhat complimentary (in some instances), but each has many nuances, skill sets and regional particularities.

Maya is a 3D animation framework.
Do you want to work in 3D Animation? What profitable jobs in 3D Animation are you interested in? What is the 3D Animation job market like in your area, or the area you would like to move to? Is Maya the dominant framework for your target (Maya is the most common 3D framework for feature film work, but TV, Advertising and other broadcast projects often use Lightwave and/or Cinema4D).

After Effects is a motion graphics and composting framework.
Same questions apply, simply substitute "motion graphics" for "3D Animation".
Many TV, Advertising and broadcast projects do turn to AE as a compositing tool, but Nuke is becoming the dominant comp tool for feature films and feature-film-like TV series.

For what it's worth, the Maya framework is far more complex, deep and tempermental than After Effects. It's often said that, in Maya, there is a career under every menu. The overall learning curve for becoming functionally useful in AE is a much easier hurdle than for Maya.

Hope this helps.
Have fun.

[Alan Kennedy]

Learning Maya, or any other software is only half the battle. There is no point in learning how to light in Maya if you don't have an artistic eye or can't take direction. Same with animation... and just about every other aspect of Maya.

For example, at our studio we will hire classicly trained 2D animators who have never used Maya over someone who knows the software but can't animate.

At the start of my career I was a generalist and did everything. Today there are few generalists in the film induscty and most have specialized in one aspect of 3D production. One of the single biggest demands we have is for technical directors. Its also difficult to find good lighters or FX artists. Rigging is also a good area to get into.

As was mentioned above... do what you love and are good at and the money will follow.

[Jim Andrada]

I think realistically you will need to know BOTH Maya and AE.