Hallmark Institute of Photography Misrepresented the job market Turner falls Massachusetts

The 90% employment claimed is still a mystery to me. You leave hallmark with a "pseudo" business of an operational website, business cards, portfolio, and business plan. So technically you are self employed as you leave. Illegal? No. Unethical to call this employed? Yes. The one year questionnaire of your work status sent out is not a legal document and is not fact checked for your actual work status. Also not illegal. Just convenient for bolstering stats and covering any pesky  outside audits. Although not a definitive way to verify statistics I went online to check on grads status going back 30 years using the Hallmark credo that your website is your lifeline to the world. I discovered that average active websites of the grads from each class from 1975 to 2000 were only 20% But in 2011 only 20% of 2005's grads were web active. It in no way means they were still not employed by another entity. But makes it hard to determine if they are active in the field. Another ruse that is used to draw you in are success stories of images  from grads landing in national publications and such. I say ruse because I would question the recognition of a photo in a national magazine as proof positive that the grad is "making a living" with his or her efforts. To say they are working? Technically yes. Ethically no. Hallmark has no more means of checking a work status than you or I. And they make no effort to do so. The overall success rate to remain in photography as a living was wildly exaggerated. It takes five years for a business to succeed. And another five to build momentum and profit. Hallmark was and still is out of touch with the real world of photography. But is always rubbing shoulders with the glitz and glamour to catch the unwary and naive. Let me be clear about what "making a living" means in photography. Your sole income must come from those labors. Not dipping into savings or living off of other funds to pay expenses or support your photography business.

"Working" in photography encompasses everything else. So for Hallmark to say your working in photography is technically correct when you send back your work status form stating your position in the field. Are you making a living? Ask the 20%. There's  your answer.