Film Schools and other colleges are the one industry exempt from any kind of accountability for claims they make in attempting to recruit new tuition dollars (students). I was flat out stunned when I saw this innocent looking at in my Facebook account that led me to this page:

This is probably one of the most misleading and borderline criminally misrepresentative ads I have ever seen in my life. Why?

Film School Grads Don’t Start at $85,000 a Year. Ever.

The figures used in this ad were taken from the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a government entity that surveys workers to come up with average job earnings in most job fields.

Within the entertainment industry, work is so sporadic and all over the place, it is hard to determine the actual earnings for most professions. It’s not a 9 to 5 profession with easy to account for hours and wages. But here’s the main thing, that you don’t see on Full Sail’s advertisement (except for the little footnote at the bottom), but it should be in the headline:

This is directly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics website. It basically says that the $85,000 a year statistic is influenced by the major film and TV producers out there making a buttload of money. You’ve got 90% of the people in the business hustling for a living, film school grads making nothing, but then you have a handful of guys like the Producers of “American Idol”, “Lost”, “Glee”, and so on making millions of dollars… and it totally throws off the statistics.

The fact that should be pointed out is that starting salary of up to $85,000 is totally misleading. Nobody fresh out of school will be making that, and claiming it is possible is misleading and fraudulent.

Full Sail’s programs cost thousands of dollars. But you can get more direct, useful, no nonsense practical advice for much less by getting Film School Secrets.