This fall A&E plans to air a new pilot series focusing on making over the careers of the unemployed in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The series, titled Career Makeover, will focus on life as an unemployed citizen and plans to give viewers a more personal view of what unemployment is like. While a spokesman for the show says the program will be upbeat and more focused on rebuilding lives, some question whether the show is exploiting a true crisis.
“I don’t think that they’re being evil by using unemployed people but it definitely seems like the people making the show are getting much more of the benefits than the people they focus on,” freshman Kyle Quinn said. “[Unemployment] has been big lately and they’re just trying to cash in, but who can blame them?”
Sophomore Rachel Shannon believes the show to be a tool to shed light on what people are really going through.
“The only way everyone care’s about an issue is if there’s a camera on it,” Shannon said. “If this show gets support for the unemployed, then great. I think it’s a good thing and I’d probably watch it.”
According to Forbes, the show has strict requirements: “Participants must be 30 to 45 years old; must be unemployed for more than a year or currently underemployed (meaning you have a job and were recently forced to take a pay cut or additional duties with no additional pay); must be a high school or college graduate; must have a previous annual salary ranging between $45,000 to $100,000 (W-2 proof of income required); must be from ‘traditional families with relatives, children, close friends, parents and in-laws …'”
The show comes during the end of a recession that saw the unemployment rate reach 9.7% in April 2010. The current rate has improved to 8.8%, but that number is still high.
“They have plenty of people to pick from to be on the show,” Shannon said. “Maybe the publicity will finally get something done to get the rate back to where it should be.”