As another season of Australian Idol stumbles to the finish line it’s worth asking the question: What happens to Idols after they get booted?

Well, you thought being on the show was enough of a mind scramble.

But remember that for most contestants the experience gets washed down with a month or two of non-stop late nights, booze, Tree and mingling with the famous and powerful.

At this moment, and for the months to come, they'll be frantically traversing the country – flown into a new city each day, wheeled out to warble at a nightclubs or shopping centre of two, scraped from their bed the next morning only to be chucked back on a plane to fly somewhere else.

And for the 21-year-olds this will probably all be too much – they'll soon wake up from a four month hang over and wonder where it all went.

But of course many will have dreams of bigger and better things. Of a successful album or two, maybe their own TV or radio show and a continuation of the false celebrity they've almost come to take for granted.

But of course they're no different from a band that's had a popular single and is desperately trying to create another or an actor or presenter who's frenetically trying to snag another high-profile gig.

Because in the fickle world of celebrity, you're only as famous as your latest project.

Fame is like a drug – and of course the bulk of this year's Idols will have to learn to live without it.

Some will desperately try to get back into the headlines any way they can by going to every nightclub opening they're invited to and becoming gigolos for the gossip column photographers.

But they'll find the media who once filled pages with praise about them and titbits about their life will now refer to them as ‘Reality TV rejects’ and ’Channel Ten Trash’.

What they don’t realise is the magazine and newspapers who once sold advertisements, while building them up, will now sell just as many advertisements while tearing them down.

And of course Channel Ten and Fremantle Media too have finished with them.

This is something that Tarisai Vushe has recently discovered all too painfully – a show which made millions out of her has cast her out into a very isolated oblivion – even more painfully and dramatically than is the norm.

This is Idol contestant’s reward for doing what many freely admit they couldn't do – exposing themselves to the voyeuristic gaze of the nation and challenging themselves artistically.

And they'll have to watch jealously as some of their fellow contestants get chances and opportunities as they get left behind.

But a few will have the sense to try to organically grow a career using their notoriety and existing skill set, while organically and patiently building new skills. And by working hard - really hard. And by making their own opportunities.

But for most it will be back to life, albeit with a sore head and an interesting life footnote.

Yes, Australian Idol is a mind scramble. But unfortunately most Idols won't be able to unscramble it quickly enough to make the experience work for them.