Get real

An older contestant can’t take the heat, and the young sous chef jumps in to save the meal. Energized, the kitchen performs like clockwork under his command, and gets the chicken done. But in his ambition to take the lead, the young gun has committed a cardinal sin: He’s overcooked the chicken! It has to be scrapped, and Chef Ramsay is furious. A litany of invectives follow. The sous chef stands humiliated, stunned that his parboiled career is wilting before his eyes. If you can’t take the heat, so the saying goes.… Similar scenarios play out on TV in the worlds of fashion, the performing arts, interior design and business. Kicking back on the couch watching your favorite reality show, you’re struck by a tempting thought: I could be a designer/chef/ dancer/business mogul —and certainly do better than some of the hapless contestants.

If you’ve been inspired to try something new (or even change careers), that armchair impulse may be more than a prime-time fantasy. Despite the obvious setups, many shows create situations that –—dare we say—reflect what really happens out there. “Reality shows create a real-life situation in a microcosm to identify who will succeed in the real world,” says Ann Clarkson, associate dean for Continuing and Professional Studies for Baruch College, part of the CUNY system. “That’s what we’re doing in our classes.”

Unlike reality shows, however, continuing ed offers the chance to dip your toe in and test the waters by taking a short course—without the public humiliation if it doesn’t work out. Intellectual property lawyer Deborah McNamara took a taster class at the Fashion Institute of Technology before plunging full bore into a fashion program at Parsons. Now a designer with a major collection and a growing client list, McNamara notes that some of her former classmates have appeared on Project Runway. Her advice? “Go for it. There’s always risk involved. If you’re good at what you do, opportunities come. You can always go back.”

• Inspiration: Hell’s Kitchen
• Inspiration: Antique Roadshow
• Inspiration: Project Runway
• Inspiration: The Apprentice
• More inspirations