Film School Alumni: Take Our Survey on Employment and Success Outcomes

Film Schools rarely if ever share or gather alumni employment statistics. (Although some do - thank you!) I thought it to would be helpful to current applicants if we could start building a database of Alumni Employment Outcomes similar to our very helpful Application Database that our members contribute to. If film schools don't always track employment outcomes, alumni success, and ROI, then we will! :)

To that end, I created a pretty extensive Google Form to get the process rolling. If you're an alumni of a film program (certificate, associate, bachelors, or graduate) please fill out this form. Your responses can be completely anonymous if you so choose.


The form will take about 10 minutes to fill out and we'll share its findings anonymously once enough responses come in. If you attended film school be sure to share the form with your fellow classmates as well.

Your answers can be edited after submitting so you will be able to update it as your career progresses.

By shedding light on which programs actually help students break into the industry, we can hold institutions more accountable on the education and resources they provide.

Some examples of the data that we are tracking with the form:
  • If alumni feel they need more film education after their film program and why (ie going to film undergrad and also getting a graduate degree in film)
  • How long it takes alumni to get any PAID film job
  • How long it takes alumni to get a PAID film job directly related to their field of study
  • The pay of these jobs
  • Resources film schools actually give to help alumni get these first opportunities
  • The actual factors that led alumni to getting their first paid film job
  • Successes that alumni have had
  • An alumni's current job (whether in the industry or not)
  • How much debt alumni have and if they feel like it was worth it
  • Advice they'd give new film students and applicants
  • And much much more...
I hope everyone finds this useful! I will update this thread as results start to come in.
 
Last edited:
Only 9 responses so far but keep them coming. Here's some preliminary data:

Forms response chart. Question title: At what point after graduation did you first land any PAID film-related work?. Number of responses: 9 responses.


Forms response chart. Question title: What was the primary factor that helped you get that first paid work?. Number of responses: 6 responses.


Forms response chart. Question title: Have you been able to find a job directly related to your filmmaking focus / track / goal(s) while at film school (i.e. Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Cinematographer, Editor, Production Designer, etc.)?. Number of responses: 6 responses.


Forms response chart. Question title: What was the primary factor that helped you get this job directly related to your area of study/concentration?. Number of responses: 5 responses.

Forms response chart. Question title: If you could go back to the day you applied to film school, knowing what you know now about your career outcome, would you still apply?. Number of responses: 9 responses.
 
Up to 40 responses:

Here are some updated numbers at 40 reponses:

If you could go back to the day you applied to film school, knowing what you know now about your career outcome, would you still apply?

Yes 57.5%
Maybe 20%
No 22.5%

Would you recommend your film program to someone starting today?

Yes, regardless of the cost 10%
Yes, but only if you get a scholarship/don't take on too much debt. 67.5%
No, I would recommend a different path (e.g., set work, private workshops). 22.5%

I'd love to get it up and over 100 responses if you could upvote the post I made on r/filmmakers to get it more exposure. :)

 
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