In Hollywood, a film graduate recurrently come across a rather grim realization. These students have been wrapped up in a largely academic process for two or three years, and still have had their creative impulses and creative urges both indulged and fortified by professors and instructors who themselves are well regarded in the academic film community. It comes as a surprise to these students as soon as they arrive in Hollywood only to find themselves jobless with no movie studio or production company desiring to sign them up for just an entry level administrative job. Why this is so is because Hollywood concentrates on experience in the real working world over any academic attainment, be it in film school or just about any other school (if your wish is to work in a talent agency, your best bet is to own a law degree or a master’s in business administration which can back you up since talent agencies in reality do not have anything to do with how a film is being made and is geared towards generating business and protecting themselves legally).
A film graduate meets the same predicament that everyone seeking for success in the film world faces: they cannot get a first job in film without experience, and they cannot get the experience without first having worked in film. This is where a lot of film schools let down their students, having supported them toward creative heights without taking into consideration more practical realities. If you want to be a film maker and opts to attend film school first, be sure that it is a place that will give you the option to undergo one-on-one mentoring and that after you graduate, they will be able to help you to become an intern or continue with an actual work study program, in order for you to succeed in the world of film making and not just turn out to be one of the many with nothing in hand but a diploma and a few reels of student films subsequently.
That should be enough if you are the next Steven Spielberg, but otherwise, it is crucial to find a program that sets you out in the trenches for you to obtain the skills to nail that first job and get your foot in the door as well as give you the chance to make connections with key people within the industry who can guide you and boost your career path. A film graduate in Hollywood frequently does sooner or later make it to the top and be successful, but more often than not, had they carried with them some experience ahead of time they would have soared faster when they arrived at the dream factory.