What are the Career Opportunities of Radio Jockey?

Answer :

With several FM radio channels coming to the forefront and the increasing backing by big corporate, the radio industry today is all set to achieve great heights. We already have about a hundred FM stations all over the country today and the number is expected to grow to about three hundred after the current process of giving out new licenses to FM stations is completed.

The radio industry offers a gamut of career opportunities, ranging from the job of an RJ, Radio Jockey, to scriptwriting and creative visualizing. Some other popular careers also include sound engineering, marketing and promotions and becoming a radio producer.

An audio or sound engineer is in charge of handling equipment to record, synchronize, mix or reproduce music, voices, or sound effects and edits tracks using sound mixing boards. They also typically deal with converting the recordings into different formats. Their chief role is to manage the sound quality and volume. Nowadays, a lot of background music and sounds and are also desirable and are handled by the audio engineer.

The script writer creates the content for various radio shows and advertisements depending upon various factors like the subject of the programme, its duration and the time slot in which it will be aired. Today, initiatives such as community radio reach out to people everywhere. Hence, a lot of core issues can be tackled by radio programmes and consequently there is tremendous scope for good script writers here.

Prerequisites

It is very important to be well educated, especially in the languages, if you are to be a good RJ. Your education is reflected in the way you present yourself to your audience. Even in general, a graduate is preferable in the radio industry. A background in mass communication is a plus. In any case, a professional knowledge of your field is important. Learning on the job will take you a longer time to get to the top.

Skill-sets

Any person in the radio industry must be connected with music. This is especially important for a sound engineer, since knowing your music and musical instruments makes handling the equipments a lot easier.

In order to become a good RJ, all u need is a good command over your language – especially Hindi. Apart from this, a pleasant voice that people relate to is crucial. Awareness of what’s happening around you is also vital. But most of all, you need to love music and be flexible in your music choices. A good knowledge of the local market and a solid network with agencies and local retail shops will make you an asset to the marketing team.

Remuneration

An RJ can earn anything between Rs 15, 000 to Rs 10, 00, 000 per month depending upon experience and the time slot of his/ her show. A good scriptwriter can easily charge upto Rs 5, 000 per episode.

Institute Offers

• Encompass Institute of Radio Management, Mumbai, India

• Xavier’s Institute of Communication (Course in announcement, compeering and dubbing), Mumbai, India

• Radio City, Mumbai, India

• FTII, Pune, India

• National school of Drama, Delhi, India (course in public speaking)

• Live Wire Media Institute