I never thought I would tell someone this...

[classic1]

I recently had a discussion with the son of a close family friend at my church who wants to get into radio, and I never thought I would tell someone this, but I told him not to do it.  I explained the current state of the industry, and suggested that if he is determined to get into the business, to get into sales or I.T., but have some sort of business degree to fall back on.  I kinda felt sick to my stomach saying that, but it has become apparent to me that what I told him was absolutely true.  Radio and Newspapers are going down the same road, and it looks like in due time that both will become obsolete.  So sad.   

[bigtime]

Anymore you don't hear of too many people actually wanting to get into radio. That's not a good sign for the industry.

[badstevie]

Good advice.  I wonder about all these kids in high school and college radio programs.  Or worse, the people who sign up for "radio schools."  Are they all being told that they can have careers in radio if they just take all these classes?  And do high schools really need radio programs now anyway?  Is this like taking classes to learn to build cathode ray tubes?

[radiolistener66]

I recently had a discussion with the son of a close family friend at my church who wants to get into radio, and I never thought I would tell someone this, but I told him not to do it.  I explained the current state of the industry, and suggested that if he is determined to get into the business, to get into sales or I.T., but have some sort of business degree to fall back on.  I kinda felt sick to my stomach saying that, but it has become apparent to me that what I told him was absolutely true.  Radio and Newspapers are going down the same road, and it looks like in due time that both will become obsolete.  So sad.   

Okay, now. Do the kid a favor and pull him aside this Sunday after church and tell him you're an idiot.

Let's start with the fact that, despite all the gloom-and-doom you read on this board... and/or your own personal experience... radio is extremely healthy relative to U.S. business in general, and will likely continue to be throughout the young man's adult life. Consider...

92 percent weekly usage (cume rating)... 78 percent daily usage--enormous reach. Minimal erosion over the past decade, despite emergence of all these digital/"new media" options. Think for a minute: you don't see CD players anymore--that's what they've killed, not radio! Radio has a long, positive future.

I run a half-dozen radio stations in towns of 3,000 to 8,000--all non-rated "rust belt" markets. As a GM ("market manager") I earn a healthy six-figure yearly income (and, no, I don't own the company... just an employee)--in a nation where the median individual earnings are $40,000. I'll be retiring within a few years, and someone will need to replace me. Maybe it will be your friend's son.

My eight sales people all earn between $50,000 (remember--the $40K U.S. median) and $100,000 a year--in tiny towns--so they live very, very well. And for the first quarter of 2010, our sales are running 15 percent ahead of last year--with two weeks left in the quarter! Radio is "Red Hot" (again).

I teach media courses as an adjunct at one of the Big Ten universities, so I'm always having this conversation with the Communications majors. I also have two daughters--both with master's degrees--making a terrific living in broadcasting (no, not working for me or this company), and enjoying every minute of it. It's an exciting business!

No, I'm not trying to talk youngsters out of radio. I'm pointing out the tremendous opportunities in radio and encouraging them to take advantage.

[landtuna]

As someone with an outside (not inside the industry) view I think you both have good points.  But as I read both posts I believe clarification is in order.

The OP advised the newbie not to "get into radio" but did not specify in what capacity.  If someone told me they wanted to "get into radio" I would naturally think of someone either being on-air or one of the on-air support positions.  I would not think of management, ownership, engineering or sales. 

If the newbie meant getting into an on-air position then I think the words of wisdom were well founded based upon what I've read on these boards over the past year and what I've seen in real stations in my market.

If the newbie meant "in the radio industry" (as opposed to "on-air") then I think listener66 has good advice. 

Clearly though, the newbie's intent needs to be defined further.

[classic1]

Radiolistener66, why would you call me an idiot when it is obvious that you only read the first two lines and came up with your own conclusion.  If you would have read the entire posting, I told the young man, who wants to be a "DJ", as he put it, that he would have a longer career if he went into the sales or IT side of our business.  I explained to him that many, many stations are going to automation, or, in the case of Clear Channel, using talent for more than one station in more than one market.  I explained that being a talent is not the way to go in this business anymore, and that he would be smart if he had a business degree to fall back on in case his career in radio never takes off.  So instead of calling me names, maybe re-read my full posting, then if you still think I am an "Idiot" than that's your opinion.

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Okay, now. Do the kid a favor and pull him aside this Sunday after church and tell him you're an idiot.

Let's start with the fact that, despite all the gloom-and-doom you read on this board... and/or your own personal experience... radio is extremely healthy relative to U.S. business in general, and will likely continue to be throughout the young man's adult life. Consider...

92 percent weekly usage (cume rating)... 78 percent daily usage--enormous reach. Minimal erosion over the past decade, despite emergence of all these digital/"new media" options. Think for a minute: you don't see CD players anymore--that's what they've killed, not radio! Radio has a long, positive future.

Out of curiosity I went to the archives and read every message you have ever posted in these forums.

This message you posted in this thread is spoken with a different voice than everything else you have ever written here.  That is your privilege. (If anyone ever went back and read everything I have posted, they might ask me:  "Who the hell are you anyway!"  So I don't begrudge you having an opinion that might be a bit new for you.)

But if you indeed occupy the position now that you claim, and you are good at it,  I am glad that traditional retirement age is just around the corner for you....   for if you had another 20 years to go in this business I think you would be trembling in your boots about your own future, much less that of a young person contemplating selecting an educational track for maximizing his/her career over the next 40 to 45 years.

A FEW people are going to do well in radio for a number of years.  (A lot of people are going to be ruthlessly flushed down the toilet by radio.  That has ALWAYS been true.)  The truth is that at age 20 or so,  we have no way of knowing if we have the right combination of talent, focus and street smarts to make it in radio because we don't know what radio will look like  13 or 26 years from now.

I certainly wish someone had given me "the Dutch-uncle talk" that the originator of this thread gave his young friend.  I wish I had gone through an educational process that maximized my choices 5, 10, 20 years later.

[Flying-Dutchman]

How many of us got into this business wanting to be salesmen?  Used car salesmen have made
big money too.  I never had a desire for any of this.  Love of broadcasting is the reason many of
us got into this field. 

[Tom Wells]

I heard this sad assessment of radio's future IN radio engineering school in 1981.
I am qualified to be a station engineer, but as the FCC was dropping the First Class, we were told that if you had come to this school
really liking radio, you had better find some other electronics-based career, because it was then too late, even at that point, the idea of simple equipment replacement was beginning to win out over paying someone to understand and  fix old equipment.
I would advise someone who really wants to be on the air to find a college with a radio station "in" their communications department,
but beware that radio is a "cake walk" game, where every time the music stops playing there are 50 fewer jobs in the industry, and if you're willing to have that nipping at your heels and career, go for it.   Otherwise find some other way to satisfy that itch, as I do with my part 15 AM.

[gr8oldies]

There are many ways to use that talent and ability to communicate that don't require being someone else's employee, sitting behind someone else's control board and playing the hits, as determined by someone else. And yes, you can even make money in what we call New Media. There was this huge convention in Austin this past week where all the movers and shakers in New Media were.