What is life like in broadcasting?

<p>What does it take to go into broadcasting? How different is sports broadcasting (local sports anchor). What are the expected hours and pay?</p>

<p>I can tell you what I know as a video production major and from the few internships I’ve done.</p>

<ul>
<li>basically just get a degree in communications, mass media, broadcasting, tv/video, etc. something where you’ll learn the skills needed.</li>
<li>do a ton of internships and work as much as you can at school stations</li>
<li>some broadcasting jobs don’t actually require a degree…it really just depends on what you want to do in broadcasting</li>
<li>the pay is not that great for some of the jobs. The best pay is in advertising sales, especially for the managers and executives.</li>
<li>the hours can be insane. It really just depends on the job and the station, but especially for a lot of entry level jobs and when you’re doing something just to get experience, it’s not uncommon to be offered an overnight shift. You also have to be prepared to work all holidays, in some cases.</li>
</ul>

<p>Honestly I’m not expecting to make more than maybe $25,000 (possibly up to $35,000 depending on job and location?) with my first broadcasting job. It will really just depend on what kind of job I get and rather it’s part-time or full-time. A lot of people might say that it’s a waste of money to go to college for that kind of money, but it’s what I love :slight_smile: The number one thing I’ve heard about broadcasting/film/tv is that you absolutely 100% have to love it and that you can not be doing this for the money! I don’t really care if I’m not getting rich off of these jobs, for me it’s just being able to have a job that I’m interested in and really want to do. </p>

<p>My advice:</p>

<p>Decide exactly what areas of broadcasting you want to specialize in and do a TON of college/career research. A lot of schools will hide broadcasting majors in different kinds of programs. It could be under communications, film/tv/radio- all kinds of different programs. So you really have to search.</p>

<p>Just personally I don’t think it’s necessarily to go to a really expensive top school for broadcasting. With film/tv it’s so much more about talent- and networking. I even know people who got decent broadcasting jobs with just an associates degree. There are also great technical schools out there too that won’t cost a lot of money. The point is that it can take a while to really break into this kind of career so you want to be able to afford to take the smaller jobs that will help you work your way up to the top. Depending on where you live, you may have to relocate in order to find jobs so you have to make sure you’ll be able to afford to do that on top of paying back any student loans.</p>

<p>So do some college research. Start with your basic public state schools first- a lot of them have great broadcasting programs! Then if you want you can see what states around you might offer some kind of tuition discount for students in your state, or see where you could get a scholarship to. </p>

<p>I don’t know a lot about sports broadcasting. I know there are schools out there with sports broadcasting programs- I’m sure some google searches can point you in the right direction. I imagine the pay is more if you’re a news anchor.</p>

<p>I hope some of this helped! Like I said, this is mostly from what I’ve learned as a student, so someone who works in the field could tell you more. There are a lot of books on broadcasting and broadcasting careers, and a lot of websites as well. Just search for what’s in your state and the type of broadcasting job you want to have.</p>

<p>Good luck! Broadcasting is a TON of fun! I was getting to work at school radio stations even as a freshmen (at a community college…which can be a great option to consider as they can save a LOT of money on your first 2 years of school). The great thing about broadcasting is that you usually have opportunities to get a lot of experience during school, maybe even some entry-level jobs before you graduate. You never know :)</p>