What advice would you offer?
Clarissa wrote us:
Radio broadcasting is something I might be interested in as a career, although I’m only a sophomore in high school. What tips would you give me if radio was something that I’m interested in? What are some of the pros and cons of it?
Please offer Clarissa your advice below.
Themocracy
Radio is a fun adventures job that is very low pay. It takes years to get enough money to support your self or your family. Prepare your self with a strong second job. Something that can support radio. Some of us Dj on the side, clubs, bars, weddings. Others try to sell the commercle spots of the station they work for. While the young ones work any part time job they can get. Is this a fun and exciteing job. Yes will u eat sleep and breath it. Yes. But be prepared. To be good at what u do u will always have to work hard. Be better and never stop learning. Good luck!
Go to college, get a degree in business or other. Anyone can get onair with some training but this student has to be looking 20++ years down the road when playing dj is no longer fun. I love this biz and I’m so glad I have skills beyond on-air
I always knew from the very beginning that radio was my calling. I’ve worked hard to get where I am at and continue to improve. If you have the love, and passion to be apart of this business, both those characteristics will carry you through to success! However, like danny hill said, radio doesn’t pay much. Do it because you love the business, not because of the money. And most importantly, have confidence in yourself! If you are looking for a great radio program, consider Columbia College of Chicago! By far THE BEST school in the nation! Goodluck to you!
I agree with both posters above, but what it comes down to is passion. If time flies by and you truly enjoy what you’re doing, it will fulfill your life and the money will be secondary. Because the industry has changed, you do end up doing two, three or five different jobs at one time, so burnout is always an issue.
I’ve been on the air a total of fifteen years and done every job you can name. Do I still enjoy it? To an extent, its still one of the best jobs in the world.
On the other, I’m staring down forty and younger pups are coming in and working for even less.
Good luck and take care.
i’ve been in radio since my freshmen year of high school.
One thing i would advise is FINISH HIGH SCHOOL & COLLEGE.
AFTER you’re ‘ecumacated’, then go out and DO something ELSE.
Radio will (well, who knows what technology will do to it), always be there.
I’m stuck in a career now that is SO fragmented and specialized, i’m afraid i can’t make the $$$ if it were to end tomorrow (and i’ve been laid-off twice in the last two years).
It’s a lot like those old ads for some technical school i remember seeing on TV (and it’s TRUE):
“the broader the base – the taller the tower”
(the ‘base’ being your education. your knowledge base).
But from there, the sky is the limit.
I’ve had an absolute BLAST throughout my career! However, if i had it to do over again, i would change a couple of things – like finishing college and getting a degree (in almost anything REAL. a degree in Communication is nothing!).
Good luck on your career.
(oh, and remember to SAVE some $$ along the way – as much as you can!)
Do anything that allows you to retire from it with a pension at or about age 50 give or take a year. This is the part of the movie where the guy says, “It’s too late for me kid, go! Save yourself!”
Hi Clarissa,
Take to heart every one of these people’s comments…
They are telling you the truth about radio today. Find a close second career to be passionate about because radio most likely will not be here for you as you’d like it to be.
Will it ever be like it was 30 years ago, 20 years ago or even ten years ago? I don’t think so, but hopefully it will swing back in that direction, where people (personalities) are still valued as important for the success of a station.
All the best,
Steve Allen
If it’s something you ‘might’ be interesed in then it’s probably not for you. I knew from the age of about ten that this is what I wanted to do. It was tough getting that first break and yes in the early days the money was not very good. HOWEVER I got my first real break at the age of 20, and here I am coming up to 45 and still loving going in to work every day!
Andy :-)
I’ve been in the business for 40 years … and I am more passionate about radio now than ever … as Albert Schweitzer said: “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” … JB
I have been in radio for almost 49 years and have seen a lot of changes. Maybe some people can make a lot of money in this business, but I have never been one of them. With the present economic downturn, most stations’ billing is down 15 to 30 percent, and there have been layoffs. Including me. Out of the approximately 30 stations in this market, only three have live disc jockeys 24/7. Several are live in morning drive only, and use a satellite feed or voice-tracked jocks (some via internet) the rest of the time. Unfortunately, the lack of live, local talent causes a proportionate drop in listenership. And there is a general lack of creativity in programming — most stations seem to be stamped out by a cookie-cutter, a “this is how it’s done” mentality without thinking about WHY it’s done that way, and most certainly no thought of “is there another way”? The other problem is that PUR and TSL have been declining steadily for the past couple of decades, probably because of the programming mentality referred to above; the other because now we have iPods, internet “radio” and many more choices. Having said that, it doesn’t matter to me if we are using AM, FM, satellite, internet, 3G or smoke signals; it’s the PROGRAMMING CONTENT that matters, not how it gets to the end user. Think up some new and innovative ways to communicate. You may need to ignore some “programming consultants” and their cookie-cutters. If they can’t teach you how to analyze a market, find an underserved niche and super-serve it, don’t listen to them. Otherwise, you may find a book that is useful — Jack Broadie at KPSI-FM has written a book about how to break into radio. I don’t remember the title, but you might be able to google it or find it on amazon.com
Be willing to work for free. Do they need somebody to vacuum the place? That’s how one colleague started and now he has a million dollar gig in Chicago !
Stop by the producton manager and ask if they need help and that you are willing to learn.
I did that and now do lots of voice overs in addition to my morning show.
25 years in San Antonio and lovin’ it.
But definitely have a 2nd or 3rd job to stay afloat.
As Charles Osgood says, “See you on the radio”
Dave
Learn to *really* like Top Rammen
and get a bill paying job on the side.
DON’T DO IT!
Like anything, it takes hard work! Radio is a job that always gives you variety and no day is ever the same… You will always improve but you will also always need to improve on something else! It gives you a chance to make a difference and build relationships with a wide variety of listeners. Plus no other job do you get to get back stage, on-stage, interviews and much more… and get paid for it!
Seriously. Be careful. It is very addictive.
After 23 years out of it I HAD to get back in it. Insanity? Maybe. But it has turned out that it is the one thing I do best and the one thing I love most. So, I wish I had never left it but am glad I am getting another opportunity to serve the community here in Spokane.
Just be aware that it is fun, challenging, competitive and at times heart rending.
Consider garbage collecting….it offers more money and a future.
Hi, Clarissa. I’m a Program Director/Operations Manager (programming a station and overseeing the programming of our cluster of stations, each of which has a PD) in a medium market.
I’m not saying that anyone who’s written is being dishonest, nor that they’re poorly informed, but I do want to stress that it is still possible to earn a good paycheck in radio. It usually takes a fairly long time to do so and definitely requires special skills. In medium markets, some full-time talent may earn as little as $20,000. On the other hand, others (morning talent, generally) may be earning $100,000 a year, or considerably more. Strong talent in major markets can do much better.
I know of a young Program Director who has moved every year and a half or so, is very well compensated and has become invaluable to his company. In eight years, he’s moved from air talent, to APD and on-air, to several different PD positions. If he wants to make it happen, he now has the opportunity to move into a Top 5 market. He’ll probably end up in New York. I know of similar stories involving air talent. The problem is that being pretty good isn’t good enough. You have to be very good.
Like a lot of businesses, radio is suffering. Poor business strategies by the owners of consolidated station groups (and many independent owners who’ve used the same approaches) have caused damage at all levels. Consolidation (which resulted in the big companies overpaying for stations) has led to cost cutting, voice tracking, elimination of positions, multi-tasking, etc. Radio *is* more cookie cutter, more sterile, more vanilla than ever. Most stations are OK. Very few stations stand out.
Still, those who have the talent and drive to make themselves invaluable (and have been lucky enough to find a good position with a good cluster) can still thrive in this business. As the after-effects of consolidation play out, we may, over the next few years, see more stations being sold for four of five times “cash flow” (the amount of profit a station generates each year). If this happens, good operators will be able to buy in, fully staff their stations with solid talent, abandon voice tracking, re-institute strong marketing budgets, do research and all the other things necessary to make radio sizzle.
If this happens, I believe we’ll learn that radio can still succeed and even grow in a world of MP3 players and various internet options. This will mean huge opportunities for those who “get it.”
So, the question a lot of people have been asking in their comments is the one you need to be asking yourself. Do you love it? If so, it might be a good idea.
I agree with many of the comments made. First of all, make sure that radio is your PASSION. If it’s what you really want to do, the best thing to do is to go to school. Whether it be a broadcast school or a more traditional college, the internship you can gain from going to school is worth the money. When I got my foot in the door (20 years ago) you could just hang out at the station and help for free and learn the business. Not so these days. Your internship program will cover your workman’s comp insurance should something happen to you (unlikely in the studio but out at remotes or at bar gigs, who knows – a speaker might fall on you or you rip a nail off setting up a table.) Try to get an internship with the morning show or another show on-air. If that’s not possible, it might be worth your while to get an internship in the promotions dept. (or any other department looking for interns.) You’ll learn a lot about radio, meet everyone and most importantly you’re in the building! I’ve met many promotions interns that I helped by recommending them to the program director for weekend board-op gigs because they worked hard and were reliable and personable. That being said those entry level board operator jobs are few and far between thanks to computers and companies trying to save money, so there are fewer and fewer entry level jobs if you want to be on-air.
And yes, it’s hard to make money at first. And some on-air personalities never make a lot. Mornings usually pay the most… followed by afternoons (drive time shows traditionally generate more ad revenue so their salaries are better) then middays and nights, depending on a lot of factors such as format & target demographic (stations that target younger listeners usually pay well for a great night jock, while those that target adults may pay more for a talented midday person who can keep people listening at work.)
Many jocks supplement their income with another job – some of them totally unrelated to radio. Some of us have side businesses like voice over work, bands, some of us act in local theater, some have local tv gigs, I have a friend who writes columns about what’s going on in town for a local website. Whatever you can do that fits your personality and can be done around your gig – do it!
Good luck to you. Follow your dream. Just go with your gut and make sure radio is really what you want to do before you head down what can be a very challenging road.