Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It depends on what you want to do in radio and where you want to do it. A local broadcasting school that offers internships at local stations will suffice if you want to be an on-air personality. That side of the business is more about who you know than what you know. Learn to use a board and get some aircheck recordings at your school. Start at a small station or in a small market and work your way up. No college in the world will land you a job at a station in a Top 10 market right after graduation.
If you want to do news, you'll need a 4-year journalism degree. Again, internships and college radio experience will be important for getting that first job. If you want to get into management, the best route is through Sales, and you don't need any degree at all if you can sell!
This question pertains to one who who wants to work as an on-air personality in a Top 40 east coast market. My friend attended Full Sail University for approximately six months after graduating high school. He ultimately "dropped out" as FS credits were not transferrable. Immediately after FS he attended a community college for over a year, and while he completed a decent number of courses with high passing grades, his G.P.A. is stuck as 1.9 because he failed a couple of courses. Despite the school struggle, he has written free-lance for a couple of well-known local publications since 2009. He has interviewed some big names within entertainment and even co-directed a charity benefit that featured reality personalities and successful DJ's/on-air personalities. For the past year he has worked (without pay) as an on-air personality at a local radio station. His career goal is to work as a salaried on-air personality in a Top 40 market. Currently he is at a major crossroads. He does not know whether it is worth it to take out another loan for school in order to attend a four-year university to complete a Communications degree or if he should continue to apply for on-air positions. He is/was hoping to secure an on-air position of some capacity before going back to school (whether it be a new CC or a University) as he would more than likely have to take out a loan due to the GPA issue but would at least have a stable source of income (and career-related position). What are your thoughts and suggestions? They would be very much appreciated.
Last edited by NowOrNever; 02-19-2012 at 06:37 PM..
He is/was hoping to secure an on-air position of some capacity before going back to school (whether it be a new CC or a University) as he would more than likely have to take out a loan due to the GPA issue but would at least have a stable source of income (and career-related position). What are your thoughts and suggestions? They would be very much appreciated.
The key is knowing someone who will get him into that first job. If he's not in the business or already friends with people in the business, the next best way to get a foot in the door at a station is through school. With school, he could do an unpaid internship in his target market and impress people there enough to secure a recommendation and be on the list of people the manager thinks of the next time an opening appears.
A larger issue is that the broadcasting industry is shrinking. Revenue is down and an easy area for stations to cut back is in on-air personalities. The overnight shifts that used to be covered by new grads are being handled with automation. The entry level jobs on evenings and weekend that were available 10 years ago have gone away and will likely never return. Even with a foot in the door, a station may go years without having any on-air openings. He needs to persevere in this tight job market and keep that in mind.
The key is knowing someone who will get him into that first job. If he's not in the business or already friends with people in the business, the next best way to get a foot in the door at a station is through school. With school, he could do an unpaid internship in his target market and impress people there enough to secure a recommendation and be on the list of people the manager thinks of the next time an opening appears.
A larger issue is that the broadcasting industry is shrinking. Revenue is down and an easy area for stations to cut back is in on-air personalities. The overnight shifts that used to be covered by new grads are being handled with automation. The entry level jobs on evenings and weekend that were available 10 years ago have gone away and will likely never return. Even with a foot in the door, a station may go years without having any on-air openings. He needs to persevere in this tight job market and keep that in mind.
Currently he is under review for an on-air position at a station where he is acquaintances with one of the managers. He really is hoping to secure it but, in case, he felt I should ask the school question. Wouldn't an unpaid internship be a waste since he has been working [unpaid as they like to pay employees via advertising because they are cheap] at a small local station for a year now?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
