I graduated from the Art Institute of Dallas myself. Here's my opinion on it:
David Elias, who I think is a top notch advisor, does his best to give leads but its up to us if we want to act on it. From a young person's standpoint there's no way I'll hired as a senior editor or producer/director right out of college. That's not going to happen. Even though I have a solid reel and a nice resume Im still a "puppy" in this industry. I have to work my way and gain my repuation before I can move on. Is is tough? Yes but its the way. David did assist me in getting a job with a video company in Dallas which I really do enjoy, and thats what really matters is enjoying what I want to do. In the meantime I save up the money I earn to buy high-end video equipment and do freelance work on the side to gain my reputation so as its a system working around a system per se: I have a steady job making money while Im out there trying to get noticed more. This I have seen first-hand is the problem lots of graduating students have, they want to do a job they think they are ready for but aren't yet.
It is true that the DFW area is a very poor industry in video production. Austin, Houston and San Antonio seem to be doing better than us. Freelancing it does well but FT/PT it's more difficult unless you have had a few years experience.
One thing I did that helped build my credibility was doing an internship for a full length feature film while in college. This was something I found on my own and not the school. Sometimes these kinds of things you have to look for on your own. Anyways I became part of the art dept. for Highland Myst on one of thier productions "Living And Dying". It was a lot of fun too and allowed me to gain experience that way I would have an edge once I had graduated.
Really the whole point is one needs to already try obtaining experience while still in college and remember that the school can only do so much. Sometimes you gotta look for these things on your own. This was just from my experience.
