Employment Opportunities 

Within the Media Sector

The media sector is a huge industry, which is growing exponentially almost daily. The umbrella term of media encompasses many smaller, more specific sectors and within each of these there is a huge array of opportunities for people of all skill sets.
For the purposes of this assignment,  I will be focusing on jobs within the radio industry.

Types of opportunities in the radio industry:

Full Time:

Full time work, typically, is around 40 hours of work per week. Usually, this means that whatever job you are working full time at will be your only job. This can e either under self employment or working for a larger company.

Part Time:

This type of work is characterised by the employee working roughly 16 hours per week. This type of work is most popular with students, as the smaller amount of hours leaves room for study/education. It is common for someone who has left school to work two part time jobs, as this equates to around the same amount of hours as full time work, but the employee is gaining experience in potentially two different fields.

Freelance:

Freelance work is usually the type of work that someone will undertake when their chosen job role is not one which is going to be needed consistently, which means that full or even part time work is usually out of the question. Freelance workers tend to set their own prices and are usually work on a "hire" basis. A good example of this is a freelance journalist, who isn't tied to any one particular company, but a radio station may buy their story/content if they believe they are good, or hire their services.

Casual:

Casual work, like freelance, is a lot more laid back and usually on and as and when needed basis. Again, this sort of work seems to suit people in job roles where work is not always going to be guaranteed or simply wouldn't suit part or full time work. Casual work tends to be hours paid and a company will hire the individual and pay them for service rendered, rather than a yearly salary etc. This type of work suits voice actors. for example, who may be required for a radio play.

Voluntary:

This style of work is extremely common in any media sector, as work in the industry is rather competitive. Voluntary work is unpaid, and therefore is seen as a mutually beneficial option; the employee is gaining valuable work experience in an industry in which experience is everything and competition is high, and the company is getting work done for free.  Many radio stations will hire volunteer researchers, for example.

Piece Work:

Piece work is where someone is paid per piece of work, rather than being on an hourly rate or salary. This rate is agreed before hand between both parties. Although there is no job security in this type of work, if a company likes your piece and you are reliable, they will likely use you again. A popular example of piece work is writers. For example, a writer of a radio play will usually be paid for one script, rather than being on the stations pay roll.

Job Roles in the Radio Industry:

 Presenter/Announcer:

This is the stations "personality" and whom the public hears regularly and therefore identifies with the most. The presenter is responsible for entertaining and keeping the audience engaged, therefore self confidence and a clear voice are essential. A background in performance of some kind will also help, but is non-essential.

Chief Engineer:

The chief engineer is responsible for ensuring that all of the technology and equipment necessary for broadcast is all working correctly. They must also ensure that this remains the case throughout air time and be able to fix any problems that arise swiftly and efficiently. Of course, a background and education in engineering (or more specifically, broadcast engineering) is essential.

General Manager:

This person is responsible for the overall running of the station and will be required to make important decisions on behalf of all the station's staff. A general manager must be level headed, confident and have a background/education in some form of business management.

Music Director:

A music director is responsible for the management of the stations music library and selecting what songs are going to in a current playlist. They will also oversee the selection and addition of new music once a record company has released a track.

News Director:

The news directors runs the news department. They are responsible for choosing what stories are to be broadcast and in what order. The news director must decide which stories are most important to the listenership and is responsible for delegating who reports what, within the news department.

 Account Executive:

Experience in sales or accounting is essential for this role. This person oversees the sale of advertising time to companies (if the radio station is private) and will often work closely with businesses to help them market better to their demographic within the audience.

Professional Development:

Professional development is essential for anyone in the radio industry, although what kind depends on the job role a potential employee decides to undertake.
However, for many jobs within the radio industry, a fair degree of technical ability is needed in order to operate the equipment that will be used at any station.
This kind of technical ability will be usually taught at a college/university level on a media specific course.
Education only goes so far in the media industry though, and actual work experience is completely necessary. Work experience will not only help and individual gain a better understanding of equipment and the industry as a whole, but it will also begin to earn them a reputation in the industry, which is incredibly important.

Professional Behaviour:

The same rules apply to working within the radio industry that apply to working anywhere else and being successful, for example punctuality and reliability.
It could be argued, however, that these two qualities in particular are more important in this industry for two reasons.
Firstly, a lot of radio is broadcast live and everyone on the team plays a huge part in making sure that a broadcast is ready to air on time. If someone is missing or late when the show is about to start, the station will have no choice but to find a last minute replacement, or worst case scenario, not air the show.
Secondly, as mentioned before, reputation in this industry is everything and in order to gain that good reputation, you have to be reliable.