Do you have to go to collage to be a radio dj?

Question

am just soooooooo curious

Answer 1

Radio companies prefer schooling in Radio or Communications before they'll hire you on a full time basis.  Trade schools usually offer 2-3 year programs for it.

Answer 2

Nope. In reality, I'd say it's a waste of money having done it. What radio wants is EXPERIENCE.

If you have a high school radio station, be on it. As much as you can.

Also, do other things that work with your voice and with READING NATURALLY. There are still some stations that do live voice ads. Even if you don't you'll have written contest "teases" and appearance "promos" to read and they can't sound "canned". You have to be able to take that material and make it sound NATURAL not "read". Also, you'll need to develop the ability to "ad-lib"...speak off the top of your head without stuttering, saying "Uh...uh...uh" or uttering something inappropriate for radio that could get you and your station a fine. If you're in a bigger market, there MAY be a special radio station that broadcasts books to the blind as a public service. You could volunteer there as practice.

Talk with your guidance counselor about unpaid (or if you're very lucky PAID) intern positions with radio stations. You will usually NOT work with the local Top 40 flamethrower hits station or the Power rock station to get on the air, it's more likely to be the NPR outlet or a local AM gospel station...something with a smaller audience. Use that time to learn from others who've been doing it for awhile and boost your skills. Also, if you live in a REALLY big city (New York City, San Francisco, Detroit) you may need to move out of the area to get your first radio job because those large "markets" are the most desirable for DJs since they typically pay more once you reach a certain "daypart" (time of day you're onair. Morning drive when people are heading to work,typically 5A-9AM, and afternoon drive when people are leaving work, typically 3PM-7PM, usually pay best.)

Tape broadcasts of people on-air and see what sounds good...and what doesn't.

EDIT:

I worked for Clear Channel. They never asked if I had a "radio degree", they wanted to know about my experience and hear my demo tape. A good tape and experience will get the job over a degree and an OK tape.

Another skill you'll need is production. At big stations, you might get away with just doing the voice on commercials but at most stations you'll need to have an idea of how to work a multi-track recorder and digital audio equipment.

Answer 3

Depends upon the company but usually technical college for announcing or a few years experience in a smaller market where mistakes are forgiven a lot more

Answer 4

Believe it or not, there are courses for radio and communications, and they do offer a lot – whether or not announcers chose to obtain and retain the information is another thing.  

I believe Radio is like any other job, anyone can do anything as long as you’re good, but it is difficult to get in if you don’t have any education or experience as radio is a strange industry.

Answer 5

I didn't. It's not mandatory unless your working for a bog radio company like Clear Channel etc...