The School of Motion Animation Bootcamp is worth the money. Save up for it. But if you cannot, the internet has given you permission to build your own bootcamp.

Yes. A graduate of School of Motion adds the badge to their LinkedIn. Recruiters at Buck, Giant Ant, and Ordinary Folk specifically look for SoM alumni. If you put "Self-taught via torrent" on your resume, you will be blacklisted.

School of Motion offers free "taster" courses to help you understand the field before committing to a paid bootcamp: