So you've been training as a gymnast since you were in preschool. You're certain that you are destined to make the Olympics.

We hate to break it to you, but you're probably not.

If you're not already at the U.S. National Team camp and being coached by Liang Chow or Mihai Brestyan by the time you're fourteen, you don't stand a chance at making the Olympic team.

Even if your goal is to get a gymnastics scholarship, or to just get on an NCAA gymnastics team in college, your odds of getting in if you're a girl are slimmer than your hips have to be to pass through those parallel bars. Only 9% of the 19,231 high school girls who tried out for colleges made the team; 19.1% for high school boys. And if you're thinking of all the money you'll make doing gymnastics in college...well, let's just say, they call it a scholarship for a reason. There's no real money in it unless you make it to the Olympics and get super famous.

Though let's be real: the greatest success of Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson's career was winning Dancing with the Stars. (Source)

It's true that if you do make the Olympic team, you have a good chance at a college scholarship, so it's nice to know that gold or silver medal will be good for something.

If you are one of the handful of elite gymnasts in the world who train close to eight hours a day and have spent your life dedicated to making the Olympic team, Mazel Tov and good luck. You've sacrificed your life for one of the most difficult and dangerous sports in the world. We hope you find your face on the cover of a Corn Flakes box one day soon—you deserve it.

If your Olympic dreams don't work out, you can always find a career with The Flying Wallendas or Cirque du Soleil. That's not too bad now...so long as you're amongst the few of us who are not afraid of clowns.

So say you are one of the handful of women able to land a double-layout-punch-front like a pro without snapping your ankle like a twig. If you're expecting the money to just come pouring in...guess again.

You won't get paid a dime to train for national and international competitions, or even for the Olympics for that matter. The teeny handful of athletes who win and are chosen to be America's sweethearts and the face of gymnastics will get sponsorships by the big guns like Nike, or the people who design those expensive sparkly, spandex leotards.

2012 Gold medalists Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman could earn between five and ten million dollars over a five year span (source) thanks to lucrative sponsorships snagged by their sports agents.

The lifespan of a pro gymnast is about as long as the half-life of a radioactive isotope; or as long as your body will hold out, which isn't realistically past your mid-twenties.

If you're one of the exclusive few lucky enough to have had success in the sport, you might be able to parlay your name into a commodity—like owning a gym. You may want to study business in college so you can open and run the place once your sponsorship money dries up and your back gives out.

You'll also need enough saved to repair and replace the joints, ligaments, and hips that become damaged from years of repetitive stress fractures and overuse. That's if your body lasts that long without the serious injuries that often come with the sport: broken bones, concussions, and paralysis.

Most of us mortals would pull a muscle at the mere thought of doing something like this. (Source)

Eating disorders are a pretty real issue in gymnastics too, where athletes are encouraged to diet until they drop. No deep-fried captain crunch balls for you—ever. You can't compete at an elite level if you're too tall or heavy. Let's hope you got the short genes in the family.

Also, as you age there's this thing called puberty that will really mess up your Arabian-half-twist-double-pike-flying-dismount—especially if you're a girl. Hips, busts, and other cool benefits of growing up tend to get in the way when you're twirling around that parallel bar.

Don't forget that you'll have to perform these complex, harrowing, and precise movements in front of a panel of judges who will be scrutinizing your every move. Not to mention the audience, who will definitely be filming your falls and mistakes for their Gymnast Fails Blooper reel that has over a hundred thousand views on YouTube. Great.

Oh, and if you've been spending all of your life training, how do you think that fares on your social life? You'll be missing out on your childhood, adolescence, and all that cool teen angst. Choose wisely.

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