If animation is what you want to do, I'd definitely focus on it. There are lots of free character rigs out there you can use to jump right in.

I would say that rigging should be something you at least know something about. It really depends on the company, but in some, the animator is the same person who rigs a character.

As for me, I started in environment work as a way to get my foot in the door but have decided that I really enjoy it and have pretty much kept with it over the last 6 or7 years that I've been doing this.