Careers—Hollywood vs. Reality

Several years ago, when the show Crime Scene Investigation (CSI), hit the airwaves, all of a sudden, I started seeing students who wanted to be a CSI. Before that show aired, I don’t recall ever talking to anyone who wanted to enter that field!

Writers for TV and movies have a way of making any profession look glamorous, but then that’s their job, isn’t it? There may be hints of reality in these shows, but they are often only hints. I wonder how many CSI’s actually interrogate suspects? How many of them actually ride around in Hummers as their company car? How many forensic science labs have all the cool—and expensive--technology that their fictional counterparts have?

I’m using CSI as just one example of the numerous careers that can look glamorous on TV or in the movies, but may be far from it in real life. This is why I encourage you to do research to find out what it’s really like to work in career fields that interest you. If you can talk to someone who is actually working in that field and/or if you can get an opportunity to observe that person at work, you will have a much better understanding of what the occupation is really like.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has a great article, “As Seen on TV,” that goes into more detail about this subject. You can find it at: http://www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2003/fall/art01.pdf.