Radio Jokey - The Voice to Be Heard

Every time you turn on the radio, there is a friendly voice to greet you at the other end. This is the voice of a Radio Jockey or RJ as they are more popularly referred to. The radio is the only medium that has the ability to reach out to the maximum number of people in India, i.e., 99 percent of the population. If one has a love for mass communication and a desire to communicate simultaneously with as many people as possible, there is no better option than becoming a Radio Jockey.

Radio Jockeys are people who bring together an entire program or a set of bulletins on a radio channel. They are supposed to prepare the layout of the entire program, select the music numbers to be played, prepare radio advertisements and then put all of this planning and preparation into action. They have to anchor the complete program and keep the listeners engaged throughout. Apart from this, they also have to often lend their voices to documentaries and be a part of radio magazines.

According to a survey conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC), the radio industry is expected to show expansion during the period of 2009 to 2013 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19 percent. Besides, the radio advertising industry is estimated to show a jump in growth from the present 3.8 percent to 5.2 percent during 2009-13. Due to such a tremendous rate of progress, a boom in the Radio Jockeying industry is bound to occur. Therefore, it would be safe to predict that this is the best time to explore this career option especially in the Indian Radio Sector as it is gaining momentum at an unprecedented rate.

The pay scale for Radio Jockeys is neither very high nor very low and depends a lot on the amount of experience you have, the kind of response you elicit from the listeners and the radio channel you are jockeying for. It can be anything between 15,000 INR and 20,000 INR a month for beginners. Experienced ones can easily make 25,000 INR to 45,000 INR on a monthly basis. If one is in the management department, one’s salary can range from 50,000 INR to 95,000 INR per month and sometimes even more than that. Senior Radio Jockeys often make up to 1,50,000 INR to 2,00,000 INR on a monthly basis. If one is passionate about their work and manages to be successful in creating a well-recognized space for themself, then sky is the limit when it comes to the pay in this field.

You do not need any specific educational qualifications to become a Radio Jockey. The only eligibility criterion is that you have a graduate degree. However, there are several courses that give an added advantage to those who desire to go into this field. Diplomas, post-graduate degrees, etc. in Mass Communication prove to be of great help. Some institutes in India that offer such courses for students are the Radio City School of Broadcasting, Mumbai, the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi, the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai and the Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.