@Abcde11 - I am extremely impressed by your post. You obviously have experience and are telling it exactly like it is. That post should be required reading by all aspiring film school applicants. When people ask, “Can I get a job in the film industry?” I’m thinking the question should be: “Can I get a job in the film industry… and then another one three weeks from now… and then another one the following month… and then… etc etc etc.”
Quite some time ago, I wrote a post about “above-the-line” jobs (director, producer, screenwriter) and “below-the-line” jobs (all the others you see in the credits): http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/1319259-above-the-line-below-the-line-and-jobs.html Above-the-line (referring to the budget) jobs are nearly impossible to attain. Below-the-line are MUCH more do-able.
But the above posters are absolutely correct about not trying to crack into the industry with student loan debt.