It’s a good thing they stayed on the Shore.
The stars of “Jersey Shore” would have pursued professions in healthcare, technology — and even politics had they not been discovered by MTV.
Before the show debuted in 2009, Vinny Guadagnino earned a political science degree from the College of Staten Island, and had plans to go on to law school.
“I would have been a local Staten Island councilman,” predicted Guadagnino, 37, an Emerson Hill native, during a cast sit-down with The Post on Monday.
“You would have been working at a pizzeria, Vin, who you kidding?” quipped co-star Angelina Pivarnick.
“Pizzeria on the side, I’m a man of the people. That’s what the councilmen do,” Guadagnino replied.
Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi had one more semester left of Ulster County Community College when she joined the series.
“I would have been a vet tech, probably still living with my mom,” said Polizzi, 37, who grew up in Marlboro, NY.
“We would have all been still living with our families,” Pivarnick added.
Pivarnick, 38, a Staten Island native, worked as an EMT for the FDNY, and predicted she would have eventually become a nurse.
“I was an EMT, so I was going that route anyway. That was my next step,” she said ahead of the Season 8 premiere of “Jersey Shore: Family Vacation” on May 29.
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino was working as a stripper and drug dealer before signing onto the reality show.
“My parents were like, ‘Go and have a good time. But when you get home, you’ve got to get serious and get a real job,’” Sorrentino, 42, said.
But he technically would never have to find another gig — as the series became a pop culture phenomenon and over 15 years later, the crew is still filming.
The Staten Island native, who grew up in Manalapan, NJ, and earned his associate’s degree from Brookdale Community College, believes he still would have become a household name regardless of the show.
“I just feel like the cream always rises to the top and I still would have been the G.O.A.T [Greatest of All Time],” Sorrentino said.
Jenni “JWoww” Farley attended the New York Institute of Technology, but said she had “no idea” what profession she would have ended up pursuing.
“I went to school for animation and software design, but I am not great at it, so I probably wouldn’t have succeeded,” said Farley, 40, a native of East Greenbush, NY.
With over a decade and a half of fame also comes crazy fan stories.
“I have fans that show up to my house because they think that they’re talking to me and it’s a catfish. So women have full relationships with me and they bring their children to meet me,” Guadagnino said.
Sorrentino recounted a run-in with a fan at a Barnes and Noble in Holmdel, NJ, during a book signing for his memoir “Reality Check.”
“He goes, ‘Listen, the Gambino crime family has just kidnapped my family. You’re going to need to call Jay-Z and the Illuminati to release them,’” he recalled.
The castmates also reminisced about star-studded encounters, with A-Listers like Leonardo DiCaprio and Beyoncé, who are fans of the show.
“Leo had approached us at a club and … the first thing that came out of his mouth was ‘GTL all day.’ That was pretty surreal,” said Sorrentino of the catchphrase “Gym, Tan, Laundry” the cast coined.
The group met Queen Bey at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards.
“And she was pregnant and she was going to announce it at that VMAs when she did the baby bump, and she got to hug us right before and we all kind of were like, ‘Did you feel that?’” Farley said.
“It felt like heaven,” Guadagnino said.
“We didn’t wash our face for a while,” Polizzi added.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
