Friday Poll: How Would You Rate Your Radio Career?

    • 1373 posts
    May 11, 2017 11:03 PM PDT

    Happy Friday, everyone!

    This week's poll question was prompted by a blog post written by Fred Jacobs, founder of Jacobs Media Strategies, Thanks for Reminding Me Why I Love Radio. In an earlier post, he had asked his readers "to rate your radio career on a simple 1-10 satisfaction scale," and in this post, he discusses the results.

    So I thought it would be interesting to ask all of you the same thing:

    On a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being "disappointed" and 10 being "very satisfied"), how would you rate your career in radio? What do you like best about the job? What do you like least?

    Looking forward to reading your answers! 


    This post was edited by Rebecca Hunt at May 12, 2017 12:18 AM PDT
    • 21 posts
    May 12, 2017 6:41 AM PDT

    I have to reference the infamous mocumentary "This Is Spinal Tap"  and say 11!  I am a radio super freak.  I love what we do, and I love the people that we work with.  If there was one thing I coud say that I like the least it would be this trend to trend to rely on voice tracking so much.  The beauty of radio is the people with passion behind it.  I'd love to bring ssome of thise people back and get them behind the console.  

    have a great weekend everybody! 

    • 121 posts
    May 12, 2017 11:06 AM PDT

    I'd give mine a 9.  Why not a 10?   Nothing is perfect. 41 years ago when I was 16 and my high school launched a radio station kicked off 10 years in the programming side which was a love/hate relationship.  Loved it but when you are on the programming side you have no job security.

    At 26 I moved my family to Detroit and inched my way into sales via production and campaign development.

    Jumping into modern history at age 43 I returned to radio advertising sales and survived some "challenging managment descions" until I decided to leave and move to the web world.

    Best time is right now.  3 1/2 years in my current role with a great radio station and plenty of support from above and below, hard work has paid off.  Plan on sticking around for another 10+ years!

  • May 12, 2017 12:04 PM PDT

    40 years of broadcasting.  I have done every job, been in every position and lived long enough to see Television and Newspaper crumble while Radio keeps on chugging along.  How would I rate it?  SO much better than I could have expected back in the day when I started.

    • 993 posts
    May 17, 2017 2:59 PM PDT

    After 44 years (and counting): a 9, because there's always room for improvement. But selling, creating, and promoting radio advertising has provided a stimulating and satisfying career. I remember Jim Williams citing his own research on radio advertising sales as a career choice" 3 out of 4 people who take a job in radio advertising sales leave within the first 12 months (for a variety of reasons); of the 25% who stay, 90% go on to make a lifelong career in radio sales, management, or ownership. It would not surprise me to learn that these figures are still accurate.

    I'll say something else: the time sure flies by!

    • 118 posts
    May 19, 2017 9:08 AM PDT

    I have to give my career a 10. Not counting 'volunteering' I have been earing a paycheck from radio since 1978. I give my career a 10 because I cannot imagine doing anything else. Simply to be able to wake up each day and work in my chosen, if not destined career path, makes it such. I cannot say I rate a 10 when it comes to struggles along the way, the size of the paycheck, some of the folks I have had to deal with or realizing all my goals in the radio field, but from the point of satisfaction and happiness in life, radio is my passion.

    For fun, my evolution: A couple my parents knew gave me an old tube radio that had dropped off a table. It still worked but the case the radio set in broke partially in that fall. They set it in a shoebox and cut out holes for the dial and knobs. I was 3 or 4 years old then. I have vague memories of being mesmerized at how entertaining this little box was.

    In first grade I recall announcing records I played on my record player to a pencil pretending I was on the radio. By 4th grade I was collecting soft drink bottles to cash in to buy the 'hits' on Saturdays when we'd go shopping. After Christmas in 6th grade I saw a 100mw. CD base station in the toy department at a store and I worked to buy it so I could really be on the air (and irritate anyone trying to use a walkie talkie at the time...CB radio was yet to become big). 

    In 8th grade I met a guy with some electronics knowledge and he was the brains behind an AM 100mw. transmitter that he managed to get to cover a few blocks. Later we went FM. That station was eventually outfitted with real radio equipment and it was run like a professional radio station with hot clock, scheduled PSAs, weather and news, even commercials. 

    By 1975 I was working as a volunteer at a 'community access' public station (one of the few at the time). I didn't have my FCC license however (3rd class with broadcast endorsement).

    In 1978, with a cassette tape of my 100mw. station "Double K, double the music" and my FCC license I landed my first fulltime gig. 

    After about 10 years in programming and on air, I was put in to sales. From there I went on to Sales Manager at another station and finally GM at yet another station where I have planted myself for almost 24 years.

    The thrill of serving a community and just how that affects a town as well as getting to know and working to make business owners more successful with advertising fuels my passion. I get a kick out of watching the talent I manage blossom and own their piece of the radio station. I enjoy knowing them and trying to keep them happy on a personal and professional level as well as keeping my owner from losing any sleep over the station. And it makes my day to learn more about radio whether it be a philosophy, a workaround or concept. I love to analyze strengths and weaknesses and create a plan for greater success for a station. In fact, I enjoy smaller markets more than the big city stations although I'm in a top 10 market at a station 'under the radar'. 

    I'd like to wind up in ownership but so far either the station, cash or timing has not been right. 

    I consider myself fortunate to have learned from many talented folks from owners to radio talent. I find I learn just as much from the newbie as the seasoned pro. When you consider I had a mini disc recorder in my car to capture radio stations I liked while on road trips and always slipped in visits to stations along the way, you realize radio is not just a job but part of what I am.


    This post was edited by Bill Turner at May 19, 2017 9:09 AM PDT