TV Jobs and the Real People Who Do Them
By Christina Tynan-Wood
You’re not being a vegetable when you park it in front of the TV. Well, you still sort of are, but some good can actually come out of it! Watching all those pretty, happy people doing fascinating work can be a popcorn-fueled informational interview.
If you’re trying to figure out what you want to do with your life, maybe watching Mad Men will lead you to a career in advertising. Or perhaps after you solve the mystery on The Closer, you’ll take up crime fighting. But how much is that TV job like the real thing? Do doctors really hug as much as the group on Private Practice? Are politicians really as suave as Rob Lowe’s character on Brothers and Sisters? Read on to find out.
The Closer
Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) can find the glitch in any story, trip a suspect up in a tangle of lies, and illicit a confession from anyone who’s guilty. She’s a polite southern woman in a squad made up mostly of men, and she’s laughably disorganized. Her work usually brings her within close proximity of the recent and gruesomely dead, and she can’t seem to take a day off without having an epiphany that sends her running back to work. How do you get that job?
Shannon Payne is a detective in the Child Abuse Unit for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force for the city of Mobile, Alabama. Like Brenda, she is one woman among many men, which sometimes is an asset. “There are times that I can make a case when a man can’t,” she says, especially when traumatized children are involved.
Detectives often specialize in one particular violation, like Payne does with Internet crimes against children. Their job is to hunt for information, but the work is not all drama, guts, and glory like on TV. They spend many hours just doing paperwork, like writing reports and updating files, to make sure records are thorough and accurate. Detectives also tend to work long, odd hours, and they spend a lot of time traveling. And, just like in the show, they usually encounter some pretty traumatizing stuff, which can affect their personal lives.
And the off-hour epiphanies that are ruining Brenda’s social life? “Those happen,” Payne says. “But I don’t usually run to work. I write them down.” What about the dead bodies? “I didn’t feel too well the first time I saw one,” she says. “But you learn to just focus on the crime scene.”
If this sounds like your kind of work, you’ll need a college degree or military experience. You’ll also need to be in top physical and emotional condition to get accepted to the police academy. You should be prepared for 12–14 weeks of intense training for what is definitely an intense career!
Private Practice
In this upscale medical practice, the doctors are so tight they’re having each other’s babies. Even when doctors indulge in dalliances with patients, colleagues have plenty of time to sit on the couch and talk it out. And if stress ever impedes on the fun, a massage, some acupuncture, or a chat with a therapist is available right down the hall. How do you get that job?
Dr. John K. Jain, M.D., runs Santa Monica Fertility Specialists, a unique practice that, like the Oceanside Wellness Center in Santa Monica on Private Practice, incorporates fertility medicine with acupuncture and massage to treat both body and mind. “It’s an unusual practice,” he admits, even though it is very much like the one on the show. That’s not entirely by coincidence, though, since the writers of Private Practice consult with him!
Just like the show’s Dr. Naomi Bennett (Audra McDonald), Dr. Jain is a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist. In general, these doctors run tests, prescribe medications, and advise treatment for couples that are having trouble conceiving. They also perform in vitro fertilizations. Doctors of reproductive medicine go through two extra years of advanced training to become specialists. As for all the free time? “This sort of practice is not like an emergency room, where doctors are scrambling for time,” says Jain.
But he concedes that not everyone who wants to work in health care can swing medical school. Fortunately, there are lots of ways to participate in the healing process that don’t require a medical degree. “Eastern medicine has been around for a long time,” he says. “It must be doing something right.” And patients seem to love the holistic approach, so opportunities in this field are sure to increase. Students interested in this particular specialty should look for a school that offers integrative medicine, Dr. Jain says.
Brothers and Sisters
Kitty Walker (Calista Flockhart) is the one conservative in a very liberal (and dramatic) Los Angeles family. She was the Director of Communications for Sen. Robert McCallister (Rob Lowe), that is, before they got married. Kitty was constantly fielding questions from reporters and presenting the senator’s message to the public and the media. When they fight, it’s often over how many cameras were pointed at him. How do you get that job?
“You do spend more time at the office than at home,” says Erin VanSickle, who worked on behalf of Governors Charlie Crist and Jeb Bush, and the Republican Party of Florida. “You end up being very close to your coworkers.” But unlike the scintillating plot lines that keep the show interesting, people working in communications need to remember that everything they do is open to public scrutiny. A significant misstep could destroy your credibility. “And in communications, credibility is paramount,” VanSickle says.
In politics, someone with Kitty’s job may review or write speeches, plan rallies or other special events, and organize press conferences. The work can be very exciting but also challenging. There is constant pressure to meet deadlines and be ahead of the curve. They also need to be continually plugged in to what’s going on in the world, because it might have an effect on their clients. And, of course, they tend to work long hours and travel a lot. There are many public appearances and the candidates live in the public eye. Plus, they must deal with problems as they arise—and neutralize them quickly.
How can you get started? “Show up at a campaign office and don’t leave,” says VanSickle. “It’s not as glamorous as it looks on TV—people show up in their pajamas or after class—but it’s a lot of fun.” Major in political science or communications or both. “But you could major in fashion merchandising and still get involved,” she says. “Skip that trip to the beach and go help out in a campaign office.” If you want to be in the heart of the action, go to Washington, D.C., but you don’t have to. Look for opportunities at local campaign offices and just volunteer!
Entourage
Stroking the egos of insecure actors, playing alpha male with powerful studio executives, ruthlessly telling the professionally vain it’s time to consider salad, and making nice while the idiot friends of your million-dollar clients screw up your deals—all in LA’s finest restaurants. It’s a tough life for A-list talent agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) on Entourage. How do you get that job?
Remember Lloyd, Ari’s humiliated, groveling assistant? “Ari started as Lloyd,” says Barbara Barna of Barbara Barna Casting in New York. And she would know. “I used to be Lloyd,” she says. “You can’t walk in as Ari. Lloyd’s job is where everyone learns the business.” The assistant job is the boot camp and training ground for most of Hollywood’s power jobs. “It’s hard to fathom in any other business,” she says. “One day you are an assistant, but your next job could be as vice president.” And the way Ari treats Lloyd (like a dog or a slave) is dead on. “There is a lot of humiliation,” says Barna. “It’s a hard business and you have to have a stomach for it.”
Assistants in show business, like in many industries, generally do anything and everything their supervisor asks of them, from getting coffee to basic research. It’s not thrilling work, as Lloyd demonstrates, but it is the best way to get your foot in the door. The thing to remember, even if you’re stuck doing grunt work, is that you’re still right on the front lines. Assistants get to learn from industry leaders, just by watching everything they do.
Still like the idea? Study film and business. A law degree wouldn’t hurt either, because contract negotiating is a big part of the gig. You’ll need to have strong verbal skills, be quick on your feet, and be able to adapt fast. “Whatever you want to do in this industry,” says Barna, “Lloyd’s job is the best training ground there is.”
My Boys
Writing about sports isn’t always a man’s world. PJ Franklin (Jordana Spiro) is a young woman who watches baseball for a living. She can belch and bluff just like she’s one of the guys, and she rarely needs to take time off from poker and drinks to do anything as solitary as writing. How do you get that job?
“I was recently in a bar with friends from work and I had a mug of beer in my hand and we were talking about sports,” says Alyssa Roenigk, a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. “I saw myself in a mirror and thought, ‘This is just like PJ!’” Roenigk spends a lot more time writing than PJ does, “but the conversations PJ has with the guys are very realistic,” she says. “And PJ deals with a lot of realistic issues from this work.”
Sports writers’ assignments depend on the sport they cover and the time of year, so their subjects are always changing. They may sit down with a player for an interview, or they may talk to fans outside the stadium. Deadlines are very important, too, so writers may find themselves working late to finish in time. Above all, sports journalists need to get the facts straight, which means lots of research and double-checking their information.
If this sounds like the life for you, start by studying journalism or English. “And write as much as you can,” says Roenigk. “I wanted to write about football, but I don’t play, so I watched games and wrote stories and kept stats. No one paid me for those, but it helped me to know what I was doing when I went to work. You have to be willing to work just to get the clips (examples of your work).” Being multitalented also helps. People want video, photos, and analysis. The more you can do those things, the more sellable you are. “But most of all,” she says, “believe you can do it, especially if people don’t think of your chosen profession as appropriate for you. Don’t get beaten down. You might have to work a little harder to accomplish what you want, but that’s a good thing.”
Mad Men
Don Draper (Jon Hamm) can turn just about anything into an object of desire that captures all aspects of human happiness. He takes three-hour lunches and spends a great deal of time seemingly doing nothing on the couch in his office. How do you get that job?
“Sitting on the couch doing nothing would be really nice,” says Denise McVey, President of S3 Advertising in New Jersey. But the truth is, everyone is working their tails off. What about the way Draper can bring tears to a client’s eyes with his ad campaigns? “That is absolutely brilliant,” says McVey. “You do have to find that emotional benefit and turn something that is a commodity into a need. There is a magical element to this work.”
But like so many outwardly glamorous jobs, there’s plenty of stress to accompany it. In advertising, you can expect to work long hours and many weekends preparing materials for your clients. Ad campaigns are truly multifaceted projects, and you could be responsible for anything from sales to design to project management. There’s also a good chance that you’ll end up in New York or California, where one in five ad agencies are located. And while landing a high-profile account can be exciting (and lucrative), losing that account can mean a lot of headaches.
Want to pursue advertising? “Do as many different things as you can,” says McVey. “You never know where the inspiration for an idea will come from.” Study something that will help you understand people and how they tick, such as history or social studies. International awareness is very important, too, so study abroad or just try to learn about foreign cultures. “New media skills are great,” says McVey. “But people skills are essential. You have to be able to show up and go to lunch and converse in person.”
Christina Tynan-Wood is a freelance writer based in North Carolina.
2009
