Four alternative careers for PR professionals

 29th May 2013    PR Guru 

When I think of all the careers I could have had – such as an entrepreneur, pilot or model – I wonder how on earth I ended up working in PR. I realised at school that a career in medicine, engineering or law meant getting very high marks in the 12th boards and attending endless IIT JEE prep classes. So I concentrated on the arts, in the hope that a media career might work. But I never imagined I’d work in PR. I could see myself on TV, or perhaps directing movies or writing a blockbuster, but here I am: a failure.

Now I am not saying that all PROs are failures, some of you are probably very happy with your careers. There’s nothing wrong with having no ambition. But for those of you who might be wondering “is this all there is?” here are some other options:

1. Journalism. Let’s face it, you must be able to write better than many journos, and you certainly have better social skills. But could you take the drop in salary?

2. Teaching. They say that those who can’t do, teach. But I think that’s unfair. I’m not that good at PR and I’m not sure I could teach it either. Again, the drawback is lack of money, but you get loads of holiday. Shame there are hardly any teaching jobs left.

3. Advertising. Once upon a time this was quite glamorous. But those days are gone now, so you’re probably better off in PR. Maybe the problem really is that you need a new PR job?

4. Sales. Now this has to be a more lucrative option. Pity that selling is so bloody difficult. And anyway, isn’t it in essence what you do already? Plus it’s probably best to wait until the housing market picks up before applying for a job as an estate agent.

Well that’s all I could think of. All that PR training over the years doesn’t seem to have provided many transferable skills. Although I only did it to have a few days off work, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.