DJ/Radio Personality.?

Question

Sorry, but I have a lot of questions....

I want to be a Radio Personality and a Club DJ at night.

I am in high school now, and I plan on taking classes called "Media Production 1 & 2" and a special class at a different school called "Television & Sound Production" will these even help me when I go to college? Or should I not bother?

What should I start doing now to start getting prepared?

Is Virtual DJ or Fruity Loops a good system to buy?

Or do I need to buy actual equipment? I don't have much money.

Also, what should you major/minor in in college?

I'm going to move to downtown Buffalo, is this a good place to start? They have a lot of radio stations and a good number of clubs and DJ needed events.

Is this a bad industry to get into?

Is the pay and/or job availabilty bad?

Thanks in advance. =)

Answer 1

Wow. Lots of questions. But that's good. Shows you're thinking and serious. Radio is not what it once was, but can still be a rewarding career with many interesting  and quite different jobs. Some of the below will apply, some won't. It was written to answer this very question (which shows up quite often - though not with the thoroughness you've applied). Buffalo  is considered a large medium market. This means that most of the people in radio have come from elsewhere with quite a bit of experience under their belt. But don't let that stop you from applying some of these tricks:

OK, here's my brief version on how to get in radio-in the US. 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.

I would take the courses you describe. If you need the money, you can DJ at parties and events - but on-air jox don't have the same respect for party DJs as they do for other actual on-air guys. No dis, just the way it is.

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 after your sophomore year!

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, accountants and business managers.

The pay, as in any industry, varies. In radio, it depends on the size of the city, the station in that city and (if on-air) which shift you pull.

I was doing middays in a large medium market and still did club gigs at the Holiday Inn when I could get them. I hated that part. Playing lame oldies and stupid trivia games for drunken visiting salesmen-yuck. I managed, though - with a cassette player, and amp, plugged into the house sound system. Many radio people like the anonymity the business affords, many want to be in front of any audience - even a used car lot on Saturday afternoon.

There are over 13,000 commercial radio stations in the US. They all need employees and will for some time. Good luck!

If you have more specific questions (and promise not to be a pest ;<) my email is posted.

-a guy named duh

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