reply to Anu

nu, you will be treated “badly” even if you had a degree from the best school in the world. thats just how the industry works. the ones who are thick -skinned enough to work through it are the ones who survive. as the film industry has a lot of glamour attached to it and lots of people want to join, its like a process the industry has developed to weed out the non-serious people. only the most committed and passionate people survive as a result, and they go on to carve out careers in the industry.
as for the experience, Vijay is talking about going out and living life. I have myself taken a break and decided to travel and learn about cultures and human life because thats the experience you need to be a filmmaker with a voice. a film degree is good but not all people who learn to play the guitar become good musicians. the art has to flow from within you.
directing a film requires a certain level of maturity and an understanding of the human condition which only comes from experience in real life, not by assisting a director or making a short film or going to film school(the three being the same because they only give you technical skill and experience, like learning the notes on a keyboard)
hope this helped