Ever wondered what it takes to become a radio DJ? You must admit, you’ve thought of it too – how does it feel to work like they do? It’s difficult to imagine a DJ waking up in the morning and saying to themselves: I hate this job. Who doesn’t love playing music for everyone anyway? In addition, these guys are paid to talk about stuff they want to talk about. They also sometimes get a chance to interview celebrities and artists. How cool is that? How is the processing of becoming a radio DJ possible anyway? I’m definitely signing up for this!
Disc Jockeys
Disc jockeys or DJs are people who mix different sources of pre-existing recorded music as it is playing. They usually play music for a live audience in a club or via broadcasting. The term DJ is used to describe someone who mixes recorded music from any sources, including cassettes, and digital audio files, not just discs.
Responsibilities and Tasks
A radio DJ’s task is, of course, playing music which may either be requested or played as part of the radio station’s genre. In addition, some of their other tasks involve discussing news, music, and other topics of interest on breaks between songs. In fact, a lot of night shift employees like nurses and security personnel listen to DJs to keep them awake by discussing interesting topics and playing top songs from favorite artists.
Education
While it’s true that DJs get to do all those cool tasks, it’s important to remember that to be a radio DJ, you first need to learn a wide range of effective broadcasting skills. A high school diploma may be the minimum requirement but most of them generally have a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and communications. A 4-year bachelor’s degree program in broadcast journalism includes coursework in narrative radio, multimedia producing, broadcast writing, media research techniques and radio announcing.
Training
We suggest that you start early by working at your college radio station while still studying for your degree. Schools that offer broadcast journalism degrees generally also have a college radio station. If not, consider going to a college that has one. This provides the prospective DJs the opportunity to gain experience with the equipment and day-to-day activities of the job. Working there also allows them to begin developing an on-air personality. A lot of accomplished DJs agree that first hand experience is the best source of training though. To effectively learn the process of becoming a radio DJ, we recommend a mentorship with an experienced radio DJ too.
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