Want To Work On The Radio?

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Want To Work On The Radio?

What You Need To Know About Getting A Job In Radio Broadcasting

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• Broadcast Schools, College and Universities

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The Apprentice Method

One of the BEST ways to break into radio is to do anything at first. Seriously! I know people who have started as unpaid interns and worked up to having their own Radio show. I have witnessed it happen, time and time again.

As an intern, you generally get to learn about a lot of different things: procedures, slang, terminology, equipment, etc. This kind of invaluable experience can provide you with a solid background while you get your professional footing. And, once you start hanging around a radio station (and being an intern is your passport to doing that), when the Program Director or someone else in charge needs someone to fill-in - guess what? They turn to people they know and trust. Often, that is the lowly intern who is willing to work any hours doing almost anything.

Being an intern puts you at that often cited “right place at the right time”.

Pros:

You can keep your day job while you get experience.

No real costs except transportation and your time

Nothing beats real experience for a teacher

Cons:

You might be taken advantage of and become everyone's gopher - for a long time

Being “low man on the totem pole” is not for the egocentric

Here is a sample letter you can use to send a Program Director when inquiring about intern positions.

Part-Time VS. Full-Time

Getting a full-time Radio job is becoming harder and harder to do these days. That's because over the past 10 years, a combination of consolidation of station ownership, show syndication and deregulation of station ownership rules has eliminated about 10,000 Radio related positions. So, the competition is fierce for the jobs that are left. One option is to set your sights on part-time work. Program Directors always need good, reliable part-timers, mostly for weekends shifts, fill-in and vacation. If you are willing to give up some free time on Saturday or Sunday, you have a better chance of scoring some Radio work than if you are looking for a full-time position.

What Can You Expect To Make?

Ha ha ha.....oh, sorry. Bottom line? If you are a highly rated morning personality in a large market, you can make a fortune, literally. But, more realistically, the salary range depends on the daypart you work (mornings, middays, afternoons, nights, overnights) and the market size. The morning guy in Chicago makes decent dollars next to the Overnight guy in Lubbock, Texas. Radio salaries can be very fluid but are dependent on: ratings, daypart and market size.

- Corey Deitz

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