How to Work in a Radio Station

The success of DJs like Don Imus, Howard Stern and Adam Carolla has led plenty of young people to enter the radio industry. Whether it is rock station KROQ in Los Angeles or its counterpart WNEW in New York, radio jobs offer the allure of close contact to new music and personalities. Prospective DJs, reporters and engineers have to search beyond high-powered commercial stations to look for work in the radio industry. The tumultuous nature of the radio industry means that a novice DJ or engineer has to be dynamic enough to move from job to job.

Things You'll Need

• Audition tapes/recordings

Instructions

Break Into a Career in the Radio Industry

1. Enroll at a university or technical college in a degree path that will match your desired radio job. Radio journalists should match broadcasting or journalism degrees with studies in business to appreciate the financial issues associated with radio jobs. Prospective engineers can pursue audio engineering programs at specialty institutes like the Musicians Institute to get degrees focused on technology rather than theory.

2. Work at your university's radio station to figure out a career path in radio that is right for you. University radio stations allow students to fill time slots ranging from one to three hours with music and talk. Since university stations are low-budget businesses, students are required to engineer and edit their own shows. Use volunteer gigs at the university station to create an initial audition tape and learn about running a sound board.

3. Accept volunteer, short-term and part-time positions at any radio station that make offers after graduation. Offer to work for free at commercial radio stations running errands for DJs and completing data entry for office staff. You can gain additional experience by volunteering to work at public and community stations during pledge drives.

4. Create an audition tape of five to ten minutes if you are interested in DJ and reporting jobs at radio stations. Unless you own a state-of-the-art digital studio, you should ask to complete this tape at a local university or community station in exchange for labor. Focus your audition tape on your favorite radio format to let your talent shine through.

5. Approach your search for radio station jobs on multiple levels to hit every opportunity available. Use websites like TVandRadioJobs.com to find aggregations of radio DJ and engineering positions around the United States. Search through local newspapers, Craigslist ads and job fair listings to look for occasional jobs openings near home.

6. Study podcasting, web development and other elements of new media to become more marketable to radio stations. As radio stations look to reach regional and national consumers, the development of Web-exclusive content and program archives is critical to expanding audiences. If your station manager is skeptical about podcasting, purchase a computer microphone and create a sample podcast to demonstrate the potential value of this technology.

7. Attend radio conferences in your particular sector of the industry each year to network with station managers and fellow DJs. For example, a morning-drive DJ at a community station can attend the annual conference held by the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. Follow up with DJs, managers and journalists met at these events to bolster your network of connections.

Tips & Warnings

• List the characteristics of your favorite DJs and entertainers before pursuing work at a radio station. Keep this list posted when producing audition tapes, conducting phone interviews and playing music to avoid copying your influences. Use these characteristics as templates for your on-air personality rather than copying jokes and gimmicks.

• Research salaries at commercial radio stations to prepare yourself for financial struggles early in your career. The Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism found that radio reporters earned $24,500 on average in 2006 while anchors earned $26,000 in the same year. DJs may need to seek out secondary employment and take on extra shifts when possible to stay afloat financially. Prepare yourself for repeated firings, station closings and format changes in the radio industry before taking a job. Small radio stations can change from classic rock to Top 40, switch schedules and shut down in the matter of months. Keep your resume in order and make contacts in your community to find work if radio stations are not hiring for an extended period.

Resources

• National Federation of Community Broadcasters
• TVandRadioJobs.com
• Musicians Institute program in audio engineering
• Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism State of the News Media 2009