The Cool Meets the Fool

Sometimes, a good, seemingly ‘cool’ job too is just a stereotype. Here’s a little myth busting!
JW Egan once said, ‘Never judge a book by its movie’. And right he was. Jobs have been stereotyped for long. Politicians are corrupt, the police are too lazy. The job prospects in media are just too glamorous. Heck, you could be on TV, the radio or splashed all over the town on billboards! The jobs sound like fun, they involve name and fame and a lot of greasepaint. Well, it’s time for you to throw off the rose-tinted glasses and get a reality check.
Acting/ Modeling: Sure, your mom thinks you are more beautiful than Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif put together, but so did Rakhi Sawant’s mother. The very first problem that a newbie in tinsel town has to face is competition. There are gazillions of Miss *Insert name of Tier II city* running around from pillar to post to get a role in a washing powder advertisement. Get ready to face rejections and ‘compromises’. You may have to start off playing the ‘laash’ in CID for peanuts. Even if you do make it big, be prepared for bigger problems. Odd working hours, long outdoor schedules, a hectic lifestyle, then social and moral obligations of being good role models in the society, etc, etc -  the list is endless! And all this for 15 minutes of fame!
News Anchor: For anyone with the slightest journalistic bent of mind being an anchor on a news channel and screaming ‘Breaking News’ is the job to bag. Wannabe journalists, who idolize Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesai, or even Arnab Goswami, beware! This job is not for the faint hearted. It’s not just about reading the news off the teleprompter; it’s about being sharp and alert at all times. You cannot afford to be lax, not for one second. The job is all about asking the right questions at the right time to the right people. You may have to interview anyone from Rahul Mahajan to Shashi Tharoor, and you will have to do it with the same vigour. To actually become the news presenter, it may take you at least a few years as a field reporter. Besides that, once you do get to read the news all day long, don’t get too comfortable in the air-conditioned studio; you may be sent out to cover stories, rather, the biggest stories.
Advertising: Hey, we’ve all wished we had made ads like the Amul ones or even the newer ones that have made catchphrases like ‘tu Sprite pee, Sprite’ a part of our everyday conversations. But having a sense of humour isn’t enough for a job in advertising. Of course, you know that and have armed yourself with a course in graphic designing too, but what you need is a course in meditation as well. Don’t worry though, the job pays well enough to fund your sojourns to the out of town ‘healing’ ashrams. Besides, you may not actually be given the creative department at all. You could be handling the accounts or the media plans. And once you’re in the job, you’re all but married to it. Be prepared for dark circles and an altered body cycle along with the stress associated with the job. There will be competition not just with advertisers of different other agencies but also in-house competition.
RJ: Aah! Who wouldn’t want to be the voice that gives company to millions of people while they travel or cook or go about their work? Besides, when it pays a bomb, really, who wouldn’t? Sounds fun to get paid to simply talk doesn’t it? Well, technically, you are blabbering from a script which you have to unwaveringly follow. And, no you cannot leave the office once your show is over and chill at home. It is a 9-to-5 job and you have to help around on other shows, even produce some of them. Oh, just by the way, you do not get to select songs to be played, contrary to popular notion, so stop taking requests from friends already. Radio stations have a separate department that handles the songs to be played on air and the time too. One more warning: Be ready for a lot of night shows, the slot only watchmen and exam-struck students listen to.
A job, any job, is cool, once you feel a connect with it. Mass mentality and stereotypes are responsible for just another normal job seeming cooler than others. Most simply assume that people in certain professions have it easier than others with the name and fame just thrown in as freebies but, in reality, it all comes with a price. So, look before you leap and weigh your pros and cons before you decide to take up a profession solely on its cool quotient.