Career in Radio

What Kind of Education Do I Need for a Career in Radio?
If you’re thinking about a career in radio, you might be wondering what kind of education or schooling you need in order to get there. Perhaps you’ve even scoped out a few broadcasting schools to see if one of them is right for you. It’s enough to make you wonder how badly you really need that degree or certificate—and what your alternatives are.

There are several ways to go about this, but in general there are three paths of education you can take to prepare for a career in radio:



1. The college route

There are lots of regular colleges and universities that offer communication or media degrees, and you can choose an emphasis in radio if there isn’t a specific degree available. These degrees typically take two to four years to complete. The positive is that you get a well-rounded education beyond just in radio, which can be a great experience, especially if you’re just out of high school. The negatives can be that you might not want or need that broad of an education; that the education you receive is not specific enough; or that (depending on school budgets) universities sometimes lag behind on current equipment and technology.

2. The vocational school route
There are numerous specialized schools of broadcasting out there, all of them advertising that they have the latest equipment, or a fast-track program to get you launched into a career in no time flat. These are usually certificate programs where you can specialize in radio or another form of media, and sometimes can be completed in one or two years, or even less. The plus side of this approach is that if the school does what it claims, you can actually get a quality education that will help you in the long run. The negative is that usually with specialized schools, the cost is higher.

3. The mentoring route
A lot of people working in radio learned their skills simply by working under a mentor, someone else in the business who showed them the ropes. Sometimes this happens organically, but there are now some educational programs using this method to train people in radio—literally placing students with working professionals in real-life studios to work through a guided curriculum. The positive is that this method is often just as effective an approach as traditional schooling—and at a fraction of the cost. The negative (if there is one) is that it requires the student to take more personal responsibility for their educational path.

Thankfully, the nature of the radio industry is that there is not just one path to get there; in fact, having a degree doesn’t even necessarily improve your chances of getting a job! The important thing is to get the education, so you can demonstrate that you know what you’re doing. The ability to produce results is still the best way to get a career in radio.
Radio School Courses
If you're investigating radio school courses, you probably already know what an exciting field the radio industry is. With the advent of satellite and Internet radio, the opportunities for aspiring professionals in the field are greater than ever. Even so, the competition is fierce, so it's important to have an excellent education before you go out there and try to make a name for yourself. There are all kinds of schooling options, from technical and trade schools to college and graduate school programs in radio, to alternative schools that emphasize hands-on training, mentorships, and internships. Whichever route you take, you need to make sure the school you attend offers a thorough curriculum to prepare you for a career in radio.


The radio school courses you take will depend in part upon the job you hope to have once you graduate. Of course, there are certain courses you can expect to take regardless of your particular interests, such as a history of broadcasting, FCC rules and regulations, and learning about how the industry functions as a whole. But you will also take specialized courses depending on your personal career goals. Below are some of the more popular on-air jobs in radio, and what type of courses you can expect to take for each.

1. Talk show host. Aspiring talk show hosts need to learn first and foremost how to use their voice most effectively. Breathing techniques, vocal exercises, and proper diction and enunciation will all be taught. You also need to understand how to use the microphone and other equipment in the booth. Finally, you will learn how to develop your own voice as a talk show host, and should have the opportunity to create your own show on a campus radio station.

2. News broadcaster. Like the talk show host, the news broadcaster can expect to take courses in performance to use his or his instrument (voice) effectively. In addition, the news broadcaster will learn about how to report current events, particularly hot-button issues such as politics and religion.

3. Radio DJ. Surprisingly enough, DJs don't typically select the music played on radio stations these days--that's a job usually assigned to the station's music director. Still, radio DJs have a very important job, acting as the most public "face" of the station. DJs must be charismatic and comfortable interacting with listeners. You can expect to take course that help you develop your on-air persona, as well as learn interviewing skills and how to think on your feet.

This is just a small sampling of what radio school can offer you. Make sure you do your homework and know what you want to get out of radio school courses.