How To Get Into Radio Broadcasting Without A Degree? (A to Z Complete Guide)

Hey there! Are you willing to get into radio but have no degree? Do you want to know how to get into radio broadcasting without a degree?

Then you landed exactly on the right page. Want to know why? Let’s get started…

Here I have shared a complete guide on how to get into radio broadcasting without a degree. 

When I was in college, I was very good at interacting, entertaining, and communicating. Of course, I have all these skills today as well. But I want you to know how my skills helped me to get into radio as an intern without having any degree or prior experience. 

I have gone through many sources but got no genuine answer for how to get a job in radio with no experience. So, I decided to help radio enthusiasts by sharing my own internship experience. That’s why I have written this post. 

This post is completely based on my personal experiences of mine and some other radio broadcasters as well. However, I have added some extra factors to let you know the current job statistics. It will clear all your doubts related to your radio broadcasting career. 

This post I have written has helped many people in the past and I’m ensuring that it will help you too and give you a brief idea about how to start a career in radio broadcasting. 

You must be wondering what I have discussed here, right? 

I have discussed many things to clear all your doubts related to radio broadcasting jobs, these are-

• Step-by-step procedure on how to get into radio broadcasting without a degree? 
• Tips on how to start a career in radio broadcasting. 
• Ideas on how to get a job in radio with no experience? 
• Ways to find entry-level radio station jobs near me. And so on…

To give you genuine help I have discussed here some related issues that I and others have faced. And also I have added some frequently asked questions from the freshers’ side to resolve all their queries. 

Current job outlook statistics for radio broadcasting jobs

The CAREER EXPERT’s advice of 9to5job.us–

“ Whenever you are seeking a career, always keep two things in mind. First is your interest, second is the current market trends of that particular industry for the upcoming decade.”

I know you are very much interested in the radio jobs so now it is time to know the current market trends of this particular industry. Then I’ll let you know the ideas on how to get into radio broadcasting without a degree. 

• As per Nielsen’s Audio Today Report, every week 270+ million USA citizens use radio to entertain. 
• Ibisworld reported as of 2022 in the US, there are currently 86,287 people working in the radio broadcasting sector. 
• Over the 5 years (2017-2022) in the US, the number of employees in the radio broadcasting sector decreased annually by 0.9%.
• In terms of employment, the radio broadcasting industry is ranked 15th as an information industry, and 341st largest industry overall in the US. 
• According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of radio and television announcers is predicted to increase by 10% between 2020 and 2030. 

How to get into radio broadcasting without a degree? (Step-by-step)

When we wake up in the morning, we hear them. When we are driving, you hear them. When we want to listen to the news, sports updates, or a weather forecast, we listen to them. There are radio broadcasters all over the place.

So do you want to become one of them? Do you want to entertain the public with your knowledge and amazing skills through your voice? 

Then there are a lot of jobs available here in radio broadcasting such as DJ, Radio jockey, Radio host, News announcer, Weather news announcer, Sports announcer, etc.  There are some other jobs in the radio as well such as Technician, Station Manager, Producer, etc. 

If you want to make a career in the radio then you must have to choose any of the mentioned jobs depending on your need, skill set, qualifications, etc. 

It is easy to get a job in radio broadcasting if you have a degree in the related field but what to do if you don’t have any degree in journalism, communication, broadcasting, etc? 

So here I will tell you how to get into Radio broadcasting without a degree. I also didn’t have any degree but still, I got an internship in radio broadcasting so on behalf of my own experience I have set the below 5 steps that will help you too.

Step 1. Educate yourself

The first step to getting to know how to get into radio broadcasting without a degree is to educate yourself. Educating doesn’t mean having any degree. What I am trying to say is to gather information about radio broadcasting from basic to pro. 

How a radio broadcaster does their work, how do they talk, and how do they present themselves? How do they engage the public with their voice? Which quality do you need to get into radio? What things you must know to get into radio and so on. 

If you know more about how to get a job in radio with no experience. Then you should read interviews of radio jockeys. Watch their YouTube videos and listen to them regularly to know their voice modulation and the way they present themselves in front of the audience behind the mic. 

Step 2. Gain experience 

The second step is to gain experience. After proper knowledge about radio broadcasting jobs and their responsibilities, it is time to gain some personal experience. 

To gain experience, you can participate in your college program or other programs. You can host the program to improve your voice tone, voice modulation, and speaking habits, and to gain knowledge about how to interact with the audience, and more importantly how to entertain them.

To gain experience you can also start your podcast to reach the audience. It will improve your vocabulary as well as Speaking skills. After having some experience within a few days you will be able to talk freely without any hesitation. 

Do you know? As per the forecasts, 160 million+ podcast listeners will be there by 2023.

You can also start your youtube channel to boost your confidence in front of the camera and behind the scene also. It is highly recommended to listen to radio programs daily.

Also, you should follow the famous youtube radio personality on youtube to take guidance. Like Radio.co, CoreyOnRadio, American Radio, Mike Russell, and you can follow others also as per your connection to their videos.

Some of the famous radio personalities of all time- Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, Ryan Seacrest, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and so many others.

Step 3. Look for a Volunteer/ Internship

No one is going to offer you a job in a radio station without having any experience. The hiring manager always keeps experience into consideration while selecting a candidate. 

So, the next step toward how to get into radio broadcasting without a degree is to look for a volunteer/internship. If you did an internship/volunteer in any local radio station, it will be an extra edge for you to get permanently into radio broadcasting. 

You should remember that you will not be offered the required positions you want while volunteering or interning. But you’ll learn a lot during this period. 

My experience of getting an internship-

If I talk about myself, then I got an internship at my local radio station. I applied for my CV there and was luckily shortlisted for the interview. They have shortlisted me because of my skill set. I hosted many college and casual programs. I had mentioned all my hosting experiences whichever I participated in throughout my college days.

Do you know what? I got an advantage from my previous experiences. I got shortlisted, cracked the interview, and then got an internship there. The first two steps mentioned above helped me a lot to ace that internship.

In the section below I will share my interview experience with you. So stay with me. 

Step 4. Establish relationships

If you get an opportunity of volunteering or internship then do not treat it as a time pass. Always keep in mind, this is the only opportunity to make a career in radio broadcasting. 

So, always behave politely with everyone present there, and always be ready to do any task they want you to do. Never say no to any task. This is the time to establish relationships with the core members. 

Establishing relationships and expanding your network will help you to get into radio as a permanent career option. 

In some of the interviews with radio broadcasters, many of them mentioned that their relationships helped them to get the desired job post in radio. So it is a crucial thing to do while interning at any radio station. I can surely say that you will be benefited too in the future. 

Step 5. Update your CV, apply and ace the opportunity

This is the last and foremost step is to apply to ace the opportunity. So how will you apply? 

To give you a brief idea to apply, you can visit the career pages, website, and social media handles, with the help of on-the-air advertisement programs, visiting radio stations, and so on. The ways to apply to get into radio have been mentioned in detail in the below section. 

But what will you apply? The recruiting manager will not allow you to meet with them directly. So you’ll have to apply through your CV. Your CV is your representative. So while sending CV to the radio stations make sure to update it with all the relevant skills and previous experiences. 

I got shortlisted for an internship through my CV only. So, if you also want to ace the opportunity whether it is your job or an internship, always send them an updated CV. 

If your CV got shortlisted, you’d be asked for an interview and after clearing the interview you are ready to start your career in radio.

Amazing tips on how to start a career in radio broadcasting

To know more about how to get into radio broadcasting without a degree, follow these amazing tips. 

Here, I am giving you some amazing and secret tips that no one will let you know on how to get a job in radio with no experience. These tips will help you to find your answer to how to start a career in radio broadcasting. This field is vast but the opportunity is the least. 

So, not everyone can easily get on the radio. But following the below tips on how to start a career in radio broadcasting will 100% help you to make a career in broadcasting. 

#1. Be aware of trending topics related to various industries

If you intensely want to know how to get into radio broadcasting without a degree. Then my first tip for you is to be aware of trending topics related to various industries.

As I mentioned above, the field is vast and there are a lot of things that you have to do. In short, you have to perform multi-dimensionally. 

You must have awareness of the trending topics whether it is related to sports, local news, national & international news, weather, entertainment, or politics. You must be aware of all the things to become successful in this field. 

# 2. Be an extrovert 

Sometimes, to get the reviews and to know the people’s opinions you have to go to the ground level. So, you must be a master in communication. And extroverts are quite better than anyone else. 

To develop the personality traits of extroverts within yourself, at least in your workplace. You can excel in your skills by reading some books and listening to podcasts. I’ll recommend you to read some best books such as EXACTLY WHAT TO SAY by Phil M Jones, and HOW TO TALK TO ANYONE by Leil Lowndes. 

# 3. Learn extra basic skills 

Think about how you are different from other contestants, and why someone will offer you the opportunity if you don’t have any extra skills. Am I right?

Yes, since it is a multidimensional job so you have to learn some extra skills to perform well and be extraordinary. I’ll suggest you learn some relevant skills such as operating the instruments, graphic designing, video editing, audio editing, script writing, etc. 

Because there may be times when you have to ask yourself to do so. And think if you already know this in advance then you will become the best choice for your seniors. 

You can learn all these skills in a very short time. Some of the platforms that I’ll suggest joining to learn these courses- are Udemy, Coursera, and Skillshare. If you don’t want to spend a single dollar to learn these courses then YouTube is the best recommendation.

The best YouTube channel to learn all these skills are- Radio.co, My Lesson, ACADGILD, Kevin Stratvert. You can refer to other channels also as per your research.

# 4. Dedication toward your work

If you want to make a desired career in the radio then you have to prove yourself. It is not a desktop or a simple desk job. It is completely different from other 9 to 5 jobs. Here you have to work dedicatedly all the time. 

# 5. Work on your communication skill and voice modulations

The radio workers behind the scenes are only known for their voice and interaction skills. If you want to work as a radio announcer or radio jockey then your voice modulation should be out of the box. 

The way you will communicate should be far better than your competitors, then only you can pay attention to your audience. So, it is highly recommended to work on communication skills and voice modulation. 

The best book I’ll recommend to read for this is SET YOUR VOICE FREE (audiobook) by Donna Frazier & Roger Love. 

# 6. Show yourself the real you to the interviewer

Here I’d like to share my own interview experience. 

When I was attempting my interview, the interviewer asked me a question to check my real self. 

He asked me- ” This is a very hectic job, sometimes you have to devote more than your working hours. So are you willing to do so?” 

Since I was in my college at that time. So, I was living a very comfortable life. Now I’ll have to come out of my comfort zone to ace this opportunity. Because I intensely wanted this opportunity as I was fascinated by radio jobs at that time. So, anyhow I want to ace the opportunity at any cost. 

Then I took a few seconds to think but gave them a genuine answer.

“Yes, I’m ready to devote more than working hours,” I answered with full confidence, and the confidence was clearly visible on my face. And that was a gem for me. 

So, conclusively what I want to say is to give only genuine answers, don’t try to be fake.

They want to see yourself, the real you, not the fake one.

Ways to find entry-level radio station jobs near me

You can follow any of the approaches to answer your query about how to reach out for entry-level radio station jobs near me. 

On the Air Job advertisement

Many radio stations directly call for the job vacancy through their on-the-air ads. So, listen to all the radio programs to know the opportunity to get into the radio.  

Career Pages

Nowadays many radio stations have their websites. In order to find entry-level radio station jobs near me, you can visit their career pages and send your resume there. 

Social Media Handles

Almost all radio stations have their social media handles. So, you should frequently visit their pages to know about the opportunities for entry-level radio station jobs near me. 

Network

Building a network is also very important if you want to get into radio. Through your network, you’ll sometimes get an opportunity to work in radio stations. You can build a network by connecting with targeted people through many social media sites. Like Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. 

Visiting Radio Stations

To know about the entry-level radio station jobs near me you can directly visit the radio stations near you. It is one of the ways to know about job opportunities. 

Allow yourself to travel 

Radio jobs are limited so if you only apply to your local radio stations then there might be less possibility of getting selected. So, think about getting out of your comfort zone, moving to nearby places, and applying there also. 

Final words…

Since the radio jobs have completely changed now as compared to the last few decades. So, you have to be an extraordinary and multi-skilled person to ace the opportunity to get into radio. 

Here, I’d like to share one more personal experience that I faced at that time of rejection. I applied many times to radio stations but every time I faced rejections but I didn’t stop there. I continued with patience and then finally I got selected for an internship. 

So, it is highly recommended to have patience and don’t worry if you face multiple rejections. Just keep trying…

FAQs related to how to get into radio broadcasting without a degree

Do you have any questions in your head related to how to start a career in radio broadcasting? or how to get into radio broadcasting without a degree? 

Ummmm…I think, no more questions. But still, if you have any then feel free to ask me in the comment section below related to how to get into radio broadcasting without a degree. I’ll try my level best to help you out there as soon as I can. 

Now If you got a single percentage of advantage with my experience then please do let me know. Also, I would like you to request to share your experience as well with my enthusiastic readers if you have any.