Real Jobs versus TV Jobs

Like many high school students, I don’t entirely know what I want to do as a profession. What I do know is that the TV does not help. I constantly change my mind about what I want to do after watching a show on TV or Netflix. For the longest time I wanted to be an engineer. Then, I started Grey’s Anatomy and my ideas changed. I was addicted to the first couple seasons of Grey’s and after each emotional and drama filled episode, I decided that I really wanted to become a doctor. The TV show Homeland had a similar impact on my career choice leading me to want to become a CIA analyst like the main characters. And then there is Project Runway and movies like The Devil Wears Prada that make me want to disregard academics and just get involved in the fashion industry in NYC.  However, the TV is entirely misleading about what these professions are really like.

As I begin my roommate search for college, I am finding that so many students on the college’s Class of 2019 Facebook page are planning on majoring in biology and going on a pre-med track. It’s nice to know that so many people want to help the world, but I feel that many are ignorant of what it actually takes to get into medical school, to stay in medical school, and to work as a doctor. Shows like Grey’s Anatomy sugar-coat the picture. Other than existing for way too long, this series has additional problems. I am no medical expert, but I can point out multiple discrepancies between a real doctor and those on Grey’s Anatomy. Most of the drama on Grey’s Anatomy does not happen in real life and relationships between an intern and an attending physician don’t typically happen. In addition, most hospitals would not tolerate a doctor having a relationship with one of their patients. Also, in the show, many interns make drastic mistakes, such as cutting a patient’s LVAD wire on purpose, but somehow happen to continue working at the hospital. In addition, leisure time, like that depicted below, is usually rare. I also doubt it is acceptable to eat lunch and play cards in the same room as a guy with a coma. The writer of this blog is a doctor and lists even more discrepancies between Grey’s Anatomy and her job.

 

Grey's Anatomy Doctors

VS.

 

 Real Doctors 

Other shows, like Homeland, make the job of a CIA analyst seem thrilling all of the time. However, it seems to leave out many of the boring parts of the job. Most of this job is not awe-inspiring and consists of tasks such as writing reports and paperwork. These shows seem to disregard all of the boring office meetings and just focus on intense action scenes. In addition, the main character on Homeland has a drinking and drug problem that wouldn't be tolerated in the real CIA. Yes, it’s widely known that drama is what keeps people attracted to a series. However, the overuse of drama skews the young population’s mindset about what the job is really like.

Homeland CIA Analyst 

VS.

 Everyday Analyst 

Take Away:

I’m not saying that parts of shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Homeland are completely inaccurate depictions of the everyday jobs of doctors and CIA analysts. I also definitely enjoy the drama in these shows. I’m just pointing out that, with the amount of drama that is squeezed into hour long episodes, many young people don’t understand what these careers really entail until they actually get job experience in the field.

Questions or comments? Email me.