instructor

network administrator

director of people & culture

custodian

administrateur systèmes et réseaux

Vancouver Film School

What is the best part of working at the company?
The diversity of the student body

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Lack of pedagogical experience in administrative positions puts immense pressure on instructors to keep students happy without challenges.  Next to no support for instructors now expected to deal with heightened levels of anxiety, depression and neurodiversity in the classroom.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very hierarchical and arbitrary in its treatment of instructors.  Constant feeling of one's position being at risk if a student does not like what is happening in the classroom.  

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Schedules for hourly staff are variable.  No certainty as to how many students will be in class.  Yet expected to deliver a comprehensive curriculum within seven 3-hour classes.  Stressful.

Terrible management and a depressing atmosphere to teach in. Don't equate this with teaching at a college or university! ANYONE can be a student at VFS as long as they come up with the fees. This means, almost nobody is let go from a programme, even if there are as think as a plank, or have no interest in being there. I gave up trying to impart some actual wisdom to the students - the management really don't care. Also you have no support from management if a student takes umbrage with your style of teaching. In that case, the student - customer - is right - and you're wrong.  Unlike at a college or university, there is no process of review. There's no a feeling of inspiration or passion at this school. They boast of students going on to "Hollywood greatness," but I felt these are students who were going to make it with or without VFS.

Vancouver Film School was both my favorite, and worst job in many ways.  I love the culture of the school.  Being both Alumni and Faculty I was able to experience the school from both ends of the spectrum.

The issue is the school only does 3 month contracts on your employment (at least my position) and this is to ensure they don't have to pay benefits or pay severance or count you as a full time employee.  After 13 months I refused the new contract offered as it shifted me to a position I didn't want nor apply for.

The teaching staff and faculty who run the curriculum and programs are awesome. The upper management and financial departments are callous, heartless people who care only for the bottom line and they don't care for their employees at all.

Being surrounded by students, and those who have been in the industry, the learning never stops. From helping others, to have others help you, you're able to keep pursuing your career in the industry with gusto by having strong connections an arms length away.

The team here is strong and communicative. If something needs to be done, at least 4 members will respond to help with the task. Though the pay may be a bit low for this position, they make up for it by being able to sit in on the classes and being able to retain information and knowledge all over again. As well, being able to create a strong networking foundation, where the industry comes to you. 

Every day is a different experience, and I look forward to each day.

VFS expects its knowledgeable faculty to progress with the industry at large, and to stay informed. Our department is structured to accommodate this, working around our independent projects via long-term part-time positions with flexible hours. The faculty and staff are knowledgeable, friendly and supportive, and the students - representing regions around the world - are amazing to work with. Only critique: it would be nice for more seasoned instructors to have the option of teaching full-time in future, with benefits.

Might be half-decent for some but  my experience was negative. Admissions management will repeatedly tell you that coordinators don't work in sales, and yet, I found that I was more or less a telemarketer. The company as a whole preys on young people and tells them they can be an actor or a director if they attend VFS programs, when so few of the graduates actually end up finding work in the film industry. Programs are exorbitantly expensive for their students, yet pay for employees is mediocre at best. Some of the co-workers were great, but they company often turns a blind eye to incompetent and lazy staff members

Vancouver Film School is a unique and interesting place for part-time instructors to work. The pay is good (for both in-class and at-home grading), but full-time jobs can be hard to come by. Management and staff were fully supportive, although I did have an issue, as a first-time instructor, figuring out what students needed for my class; I could have used a bit more support in developing syllabi, but the students are great, and it was very rewarding. 

Over worked, underpaid, overly complex computer systems; but worst of all, a student took their own life and they responded by giving an optional meeting with no pay that abruptly ended after a couple of hours.  There was so significant support given to staff to address the mental health of students.

Unqualified students were allowed to take the program and were kept in the program when they were a danger to others because the corporation didn't want to lose their $$$..

Have caused so many damage to the community through gentrification without addressing any of social issues around them.

Hard workers are rewarded with hard work. You have to fight to be recognized financially for your efforts unfortunately. I really enjoy working with almost everyone who is employed there, but the institution definitely takes advantage of the positive workplace atmosphere to underpay and under recognize their employees, especially part-time and Teaching Assistants, who barely make a living and work as hard as the instructors (and sometimes harder) in certain programs.

It was a wonderful experience to work at VFS and I enjoyed it very much. My hourly rate was decent but I didn't have enough hours to properly support myself so I would say it was more of a part time job in addition to working elsewhere, so I worked evenings mostly. I was there for several years but it didn't seem that getting in on a full time basis was going to be an option. I truly loved it there and loved the students. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Instructor 3 salaries reported	$45.00 per hour
Network administrator 5 salaries reported	$80,000 per year
Director of people & culture 1 salary reported	$62,500 per year
Custodian 1 salary reported	$21.50 per hour
Administrateur systèmes et réseaux 4 salaries reported	$80,000 per year

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