I went to LA Film school for about 3 days. lol. i got the boot cause my co-signer for my loan wasnt approved in time. After doing a lot of studying and what not, film school really is fun, and you learn a lot about techniques and the how to's of a lot of stuff. But this industry really is about, Who you know. The only thing really great about film school that you will get outta it, is the networking you will get, which is the most important part.
i.e. My friends dad started out in a film lab, as a person who would cut the film, and label the film on each take, very boring, long story short, in about a few years time, he is now head of a visual FX department and does movies like Chronicles of Narnia, Scooby Doo, and others. If you look at the list of film school drop outs, you will find Speilberg, Lucas, and many others. the list of successful film school drop outs is a lot larger than those that finished. Im still waiting for the day you see a director with a PHD lol

though film school teaches u a lot of valuable lessons, a lot of it can be learned in the field once u find the right people. I met someone once on the NBC studio lot, who majord in film, but his job was to escort people in and out of the carson daily show. he wanted to be a director.

Save your money, and stop wanting to be a film maker, and use ur money to make ur film.

Majority of professors in film schools, are alumni of the actual film school you would attend, and mainly so they can pay off the thousands of dollars in loans they owe....

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The value of film school, like anything, is a measure of how much you put into it. I have BA in film and video. I worked as a production specialist (meaning I did everything imaginable in production) for a few years and now I am a producer. That being said, I know a lot of my film school classmates do nothing movie related. The thing that the BA has done for me, other than giving me a lot of debt, is expand my world view and give me opportunities for a wide variety of jobs (a bachelor is the bare minimum requirement for a lot of well-paying jobs.) Could I have skipped school and gone and worked my way up through the industry? Maybe, but my BA also helped me avoid unemployment and allowed to afford rent and food simultaneously. Yeah, there are some famous filmmakers who didn't finish or even go to college, but a college education can be a very important asset as well. There are a lot of college dropouts who are millionaire professional athletes, but only a tiny fraction of a percentage of high school athletes ever make any money in sports. Speilburg and Lucas are the Lebron James and Micheal Jordan of filmmaking.

As for teaching, generally you need BA plus certificates to teach high school in America, at least a MA to get a job teaching at the community college level and a MFA or PhD are required in almost every situation to be a professor at most colleges and universities. A PhD focuses on film criticism research and writing, while an MFA is a chance to hone your production skills.

College degrees are fantastic sources of debt, but also tend to pay for themselves with in a couple of decades; they are major investments in your future. But they are not for everyone and they by no means guarantee a successful filmmaking career. If you don't mind working long hours for little to no pay doing really awful jobs in the industry, you can certainly work your way up. But you may have a hard time making a living going that route. You could also volunteer or intern and public access stations while working a job that will actually allow you to pay rent and such. This gives you access to some hands on education, contacts and maybe even leads on production jobs. Whatever route you choose, keep writing and making movies in your free time to hone your skills and allow you to make the most of any opportunity you might get. Good luck with your decision.

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I would always suggest getting a college degree...probably in business not film. For $120,000 I would bet Spielberg would let you follow him around for a year. LOL! Go to college...get a business degree... get a job...make money and use it to make contacts and films. Maybe get a masters in film or attend a few classes...but the degree will not guarantee success. With over 10,000 film grads per year...how many do we hear about? Maybe 1 a year...if that. Contacts? You might get lucky with meeting someone in film school, who moves up, but living in LA, NY, etc. and hanging out...you can meet the contacts. Having a business degree is worth it...because the movie business is all about business...not the creative side. Go to school...get a job...make money...hang out in the right places...make films.