While a season of So You Think You Can Dance? is underway, the judges are spending their weekends traveling to audition sites so the show can be start again in late September – on the fall schedule for the first time.

When I asked judge Mary Murphy about possible futures for Dance contestants, she rhymed off more than a dozen names and their gigs – in videos, on Broadway, on Dancing with the Stars, and so on. As she went on, I doubted I could match her employed American Idol contestant for So You Think You Can Dance? contestant. I certainly doubt many Idol alum are having the careers they envisioned, but considering how improbable a dance career sounds, So You Think You Can Dance? may be better success story. Considering the competition – “hundreds” in New Orleans, we were told, vs. “thousands” at least for American Idol tryouts – Dance might be the better bet for those looking to establish a career through reality talent competition shows.