I want to be a radio dj when i grow up show i want to know every thing about being a radio dj including what?

Question

they use to get every thing on the air and even some links for some websites that i can find out more

Answer 1

Hi there.

You will need to get attached to a station as a trainee (hit the websites of the ones you like best). You can also get a start through the voluntary sector, doing hospital radio for instance.

Good luck, Steve.

Answer 2

Well I'm actually a DJ in training right now I could just tell you all I know including station rules! I take a radio class at my school (one of the best school radio stations in Indiana or so the contests and competitions state!) Anyway I really do help run a really public station. I'm learning all I can in radio 1 here soon I'll go to radio 2 and learn to do production in radio three no more instructing and I go into the real deal. Anyway as a new and up coming DJ ask me anything you like. my email is [e-mail] also look at some of the answers on radio I've given (I happent to be our top radio student right now)

Answer 3

OK, here's my brief version on how to get in radio. Take it from one who started this way. If you want to try radio as a possible career choice, It's easy, really easier than most think. Go to all the local radio stations and tell them you're willing to do anything for little or no money (at first). Including interning (though those are usually for current college students in a broadcasting major). In a big city, that's going to be more difficult than a smaller town, but not impossible.

Maybe they need a Gofer, or a production or promotion assistant. In the old days you used to be able to 'hang out" at a station. That's still a possibility (usually at night) in a small town, but in a bigger city, it's hard because the stations are in office buildings. Anyway, so maybe you get a Gofer or promotion assistant job. Or maybe you're just the kid who hangs out and will go get burgers. Then as people leave for bigger better gigs, you move up. Radio's a very fluid business. People move a lot. Because the only way to really get promoted is to go to a bigger market.

Give it a try. You've got nothing to lose. Study all the stations where you live. Visit some of the websites I'll put below. Go around to all the stations (obviously start with the ones where you like the music - but don't leave out religious stations, foreign language stations etc. anything to get experience and something legit on your resume). Because you've studied the station and listened to their format, you'll impress them with your knowledge; go to the remote broadcasts and get to know the promotion people - the ones hanging banners, in the tent and handing out bumper stickers.

Sooner or later someone will leave and you can say, "Hey, I can do that, I want his job now that he's leaving." It's important you have a driver’s license & clean record, 'cause you'll be driving the station van. Go 4 it!

Also, many colleges and some high schools (especially magnet schools) have radio courses of study and there are private vocational schools like Columbia School of Broadcasting. Emerson College in Boston is the premiere Media College in the US.

If you are interested in a career in radio, check out this great scholarship program from the John Bayliss Broadcast Foundation. It could mean $5,000 towards your tuition!

www.baylissfoundation.org

Maybe you can turn another skill, with accounting, traffic, or engineering into an off-air career. Sales, though not as popular with young people, is a great way to get into radio even if you don't have a great voice. You'll also make more money and work steadier hours - but it's not as glamorous. Radio stations also need salespeople, acountants and business managers.

Here's my treatise on salaries and stuff for DJs

I can only speak for how it works in the US:

Salary: Anywhere from minimum wage to millions of dollars per year. It depends on the experience, talent, audience you draw, deal you cut, time of day you work, city you work in and a host of other things. There is no average (though I'm sure some websites will say there are).

Being a jock is almost a 24/7 job. You are expected to come in early and do commercials or help with promotional planning. You are expected to stay after your shift for the same chores. You give up your weekends to go to station events, some of which are fun - I used to do concert intros, got to go backstage, feel important and stuff, go see my friends in their seats with all my passes strung around my neck then introduce the act. Heady stuff. Sadly only about 1% of the job.

I once had to announce to 20,000 screaming fans that "Ozzie has a serious throat infection and Black Sabbath will not be able to perform tonight as scheduled," BOOO! "BUT, The Outlaws have kindly consented to do a double set!" YEAH!

They didn't care, only one guy asked for a refund. Though the promoter cited me for helping to keep them in their seats because of the way I handled it, did I get any more money? HA!

They don't use jocks to introduce the bands much anymore. By then the acts all had opening sequences they didn't want messed up by some local kid from the radio station. (see a separate question on this subject that was asked earlier this week).

Once we finally get home, we are expected to prepare for tomorrow's show, monitor other stations and watch popular TV shows so we can talk about them on the air. We might also have a stack of CDs to listen to for potential new hit records.

For that, most jocks are paid an annual salary that is very dependent on your experience level, what city you are in, what time period you are on air and what your off-air title is. Most jocks also carry "Music Director," Production Director," Program Director" etc. So, if you're the MD/Mid-day personality, you'll get more than the night guy who has no off-air title. You are expected to be thrilled about this because your experience is building and your "career" will benefit.

There’s no overtime, though occasionally you'll get some bartered merchandise, an appearance fee or a discount if you buy something from an advertiser. The manager might set up a bonus structure based on your ratings.

The smaller the station, the more work, including emptying the trash! If you are doing mornings in Philly, it's much different from being the night guy in Des Moines. Except the night guy in Des Moines is always trying to figure a way to get to do mornings in Philly. And the guy in Philly wants to take his show to syndication so he'll have a national audience and get syndication fees.

Excluding big stars like Bob & Tom, Tom Joyner, Opie & Anthony, Howard Stern, etc. annual salaries run from $20k per year (for a beginner overnight jock in a small market) to $200-$300k for the morning guy in Philly who has a cast, sidekick, promotion and appearance money and maybe does all the commercials for the local Ford dealer.

There's an interesting article from the Bureau of Statistics (use a search engine to find - I've lost the URL) but their numbers are probably not right, because very few announcers are paid hourly and that's what they base their numbers on.

Hope this helped. Good luck!

-a guy named duh

Free Radio Newsletters:

www.AllAboutCountry.com

www.AllAccess.com

www.insideradio.com

www.radio-info.com

Answer 4

Hey I've just started a radio production course at Uni. I have already presented my own radio show live on the college radio station and hopefully in the new year I will be able to have my own regular show as all the experience matters. Also, the uni has alot of connections and next yr we get to choose a 6 week work placement which can then progress into part time work experience untill the course is finished. Why don't you check out similar courses, 'cos it's no longer as easy to get radio stations to give you a chance on a whim anymore, you gotta prove yourself before hand too.