“Hey, you’re tall. You should become a model!”
If you’ve ever heard this comment because you’re slightly taller than average, know that it takes more than just height to make it onto runways.
Take Iris Law, for example. Law has walked for top designer brands like Miu Miu, Burberry, and Versace, and she’s only 5’5″ (165cm) – shorter than the minimum height requirement for most modelling agencies at 5’9″ (175cm).
This is just one of the examples of people getting things wrong about acquiring professional work, something we like to call job myths.
Many content creators direct, edit, copywrite, post, and market their products themselves. Source: AFP
Most people make assumptions about careers they are not fully well-versed in, especially if the line of work is niche and is not aligned with jobs in the traditional sense, like being a doctor, engineer, or lawyer.
As the professional industry progresses, more rules are considered to become outdated. Just look at how most offices today do not require you to wear formal attire – something not practised 60 years ago when everyone had to adhere to an office’s strict dress code.
Now, more new jobs have popped up in the scene, inviting more misconceptions and assumptions.
Content creators have the short end of the stick as they are usually accused of not actually working when, in reality, they are directing, editing, copywriting, marketing, and doing more work than a standard job scope would require.
However, there are a few employment types that are deadset on a requirement, and not fulfilling it means not getting the job, like meeting the Body Mass Index (BMI) standards of between 18 and 32 to become a police officer or work in the military.
Although the media would picture police officers as obese folks eating doughnuts throughout the day, these boys in blue have to go through a range of fitness tests and maintain a specific body weight to continue serving the people.
Here are more popular job myths — debunked, busted and quashed.
Job myths
As long as you are taller than 5’2″, you are qualified to become a flight attendant. Source: AFP
Flight attendants must be tall
Although most flight attendants are usually tall, being vertically gifted is not a requirement. Most airlines actually look for candidates — female and male — with a height starting from 5’2″ (157cm). This is significantly lower than the world’s average male height of 5’8″ (172cm).
Granted, having the height to reach overhead compartments would be useful, but the misconception of having to be a certain height to become a steward or stewardess is a pure job myth.
Tennis players must be left-handed
The ability to play tennis well is not determined by having a dominant left hand. Even if most tennis players are left-handed – fuelling that particular job myth – playing with your right hand is acceptable too.
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic play right-handed, and they became world champions.
But, it is said that playing tennis left-handed gives an advantage because you can hit a crosscourt forehand with a heavy spin to your opponent’s weakest stroke: their backhand.
Musicians must know how to read notes
Depending on the style of music you are playing, learning to read music notation is not entirely necessary to become a top-level musician.
Most musicians who play in rock or metal bands do not need to read notes; they learn by ear instead — like this video of Red Hot Chili Peppers’s Chad Smith covering a Thirty Seconds To Mars song for the first time.
But if you are playing in an orchestra or learning classical music, sight-reading can be a handy skill. Music sheets provide a visual reference for the pitch, rhythm, and dynamics of the music you are playing.
IT workers can solve all computer problems
Working in IT will automatically brand you as the “computer guy.” Just because you work with computers, people immediately assume that you can solve any and every computer-related problem, from troubleshooting the Wi-Fi network to hacking into someone else’s password.
People in IT perform according to their job roles, similar to how a civil engineer’s work would differ from that of a chemical engineer. So, asking a software developer to fix the printer might be a bit of a stretch.
Pilots need to have perfect vision, regardless of whether they wear glasses or not. Source: AFP
Pilots cannot wear spectacles
Wearing glasses does not disqualify you from becoming a pilot as long as your vision is correctable to the required standards, which are distant vision correctable to 20/20 and near vision to 20/40.
Becoming a commercial pilot requires proper training, dedication, and meeting the flight hour requirements – far more important requisites than perfect eyesight. So, if you have always dreamed of taking to the skies, don’t let glasses hold you back.
Surgeons must have slim fingers
No, you do not need slim fingers or smaller hands to become a surgeon. In fact, a 2022 study reports that surgeons with smaller hands experience disproportionate discomfort, especially when using minimally invasive surgery (MIS) instruments.
What you need is excellent manual dexterity and hand grip strength to use fine tools during operation.
One of the job myths about a career in law is that you have to know Latin. Source: AFP
Lawyers must know Latin
Even if Latin is considered a dead language, it is still used in law today in drafting documents.
However, you do not need to be fluent in Latin to become a lawyer. You just need to know certain phrases like pro bono, ad hoc, de facto, and more, which you will certainly come across often.
Architects must be good at math
The good news is that you do not have to be a math genius if you want to become an architect. In actual practice, very few architects use mathematics in their work and focus on the design and conceptual aspects instead.
Knowing some basic math concepts — such as algebra, trigonometry, and, of course, geometry, to work around dimensions, area, volume, quantities, and other geometric-related problems — can be handy though. 
A job myth for teachers is that they get paid a full year but for 10 months of work. Source: Pexels
Teachers work 10 months but get paid for 12
Depending on the school and country, teaching is not a year-round job. It is usually a 10-month contract (due to summers off) that is renewed each year. And contrary to popular belief, they are not paid for the remaining two months.
That means teachers have to find some other way to accommodate their living expenses for two months before getting back to school. This is why many teachers take part-time jobs during the summer to make ends meet.
