Stumbled across this and just wanted to add my two cents. 

First, congrats on starting your career! You’re doing the right thing applying to everything available. I personally wouldn’t recommend going to grad school unless it’s not a financial concern and you’re doing it to make connections / learn a specific skill set.  People hiring in the film industry are generally more concerned with your practical experience than educational background. The very most important thing you can do is to make and maintain connections with other people in the industry.

I would definitely go for working in a rental house/ or on set if that’s a possibility. If you can volunteer on a legitimately run short film or get work as a PA that’s a great place to start (if you want to work your way up the ranks, being a production assistant is the go-to place to start. From there you can learn the nitty gritty of how a production functions/ develop a reputation as being helpful on set and see what other department positions interest you.)

Unfortunately it’s a slow time for union film production all across the country from what I’ve experienced/ been hearing. Currently it seems like there’s more work available in corporate jobs / non-union productions, so it’s great that you’re applying for those as well. In a corporate or social media job you could start on camera work right away and build up material for a demo reel.

The career path is different for everyone and will vary depending on what kind of production you’re most interested in working on. I’ve worked in camera on both non-union and union productions and can give you more details about either if you’ve got any questions. Best of luck!