Selling out

Around a month ago I was asked to take part in an 'expert panel' alongside three other academics, in different fields than mine. I immediately said yes because starting over in a new country means that you have to expose yourself where you can in order to make sure (the right) people know your name and in the longer run fund your research. Come to think about it, being in academia is not that different from from being an actress/singer, a career I am only too familiar with through my mother. It turned out to be a filmed panel done for commercial purposes and although I paused for a second, the next part made me stay on: I am being paid a good amount of money for my time. So although I got to talk about my research and my opinion on the different topics, I can't help having a feeling that I sold out. But nevertheless, last week I spent half a day in a film studio being interviewed and participating in a panel on topics relating to my own expertise. It was an interesting experience (but not a new one, I have been 'expert' on programs before) and I just hope that it will not be perceived as if I have sold my soul to the advertising devil and that few people will in fact watch this campaign.