#15 Reason I Hate Film School . . . When I Graduate, I Won't Find The Kind of Work I Studied For Right Away

Yes, that is true. When I graduate from a traditional film school, I won't be able to find the kind of work that I studied for. Most industries in this field would rather that you've got some experience under your belt before you could start working for them. They're not gonna appreciate your film school diploma, no matter how expensive it is and how much time and money you've invested in them. Nope, the best way to get noticed by the head honchos of the film-making industry is if you've got some internship experience, something to show them that aside from studying film, you know what to do once you're in a film set.

Trust me, they're not going to waste time teaching a complete newbie how to work around a set when they could find someone else with more experience and give the work to them. It's going to be hard to gain their trust with just a diploma and enthusiasm. So it's pretty frustrating to have spent all that time and money and still have to contend with the fact that after graduation, despite all the hard work I've done, I'm not that much closer to fulfilling my dreams.

#14 Reason I Hate Film School . . . It Costs An Arm And A Leg!

Most traditional film schools expect their students to come from the old filmmaking families. Coppolas, Scotts, Donners, and Nolans - you name them, and they and their uncles have probably gone to film school.

Naturally, this means that they've got money to burn. And because they've got money to burn, it also means that these traditional film schools charge and arm and a leg. The sad part is that they charge such exorbitant tuitions to EVERYBODY. Nobody's spared - not you, not me, not your neighbor's nephew.

So what options do the rest of us mere mortals have? Well, there's always Film Connections. The tuition is reasonable. It won't send you or your parents to the poorhouse. Best of all, however, you actually learn something because it's not just for show. You're trained in a real set with real film crews as mentors. That's some value right there!

#13 Reason I Hate Film School . . . I Don't Even Get to See a Film Set!

As a film student in a traditional film schools, we get the opportunity to study the works of masters and learn from them. Be able to nourish our creativity by observing them. And yet, there's only so much we can learn in a classroom . . . and so much more when we're in the set of an actual production.

Once we're done with film school and armed with our diplomas and the knowledge we've accumulated, we're off to find work. And yet it's not going to be a pretty sight when we're on the set and are completely clueless about how things are done there. Among the rather amusing scenarios would be bumping into the huge camera or tripping over the wire. But then, we'll stick out like a sore thumb. It's going to look like we have no idea what to do there. And that's because we don't. We don't get to be in an actual set while we were still students, still learning. And our potential employers? They're not going to appreciate it. They won't appreciate having to teach the fresh graduates what they would consider the basics.

So no thanks. I want to be able to see an actual film set even when I'm still studying. We're aiming to impress when we're looking for a job. Looking lost on the first day of our job might be expected but it's not going to be very impressive.

#12 Reason I Hate Film School . . . What's Next After Graduation?

I'm sure there's a lot to learn in film school, but you've got admit, we come to school to look for a job, right? And knowing all that we could in school would not be enough. The filming industry is not like any other industry. A lot of what you need to learn to be able to make it big, you will learn on the job. I mean really, what's the point of going to school then other than learning the basics.

Other than that, it helps to know someone in the industry to open doors for you. To show you the ropes of making it work. It would be nice for film schools to give us that push toward the right door. I don't feel like graduating and starting from scratch, because wouldn't the producers and directors rather hire someone who's actually been in an actual movie set than having been stuck in a classroom for years? I'm sure they would rather have someone who knows how to work from experience rather than from books. Nothing beats hands-on learning.

That's right, film school can only take you so far, but to be able to work in the industry that we love, we've got to be able to experience it while we're learning it. To do both at the same time, learning about film and working in film, would just be great.