Radio, Television, and Film Careers in Industry and Entertainment

The field of radio, television, and film includes a tremendous variety of jobs and interests. Most of us are familiar with the people we hear on the radio or see on television and in the movies, but that is just the tiniest tip of the iceberg of careers in the vast world of media. The film industry alone has jobs for carpenters, painters, electricians, caterers, and even animal trainers. But most students who go to college for media related courses are interested in how the various programs are made; and they want to learn how all these different media are created. Many students want to become writers, directors, camera operators, or editors. Let's look at each of the three main media:

Radio
There are over a thousand radio and television stations in the United States. They are organized into "markets" of different sizes. There are radio stations in hundreds of towns that do not have a television station. These small markets are usually a great place to get your first job. You will need to be able to do just about everything – from recording, editing, and writing local commercials to announcing on the air. In larger markets, the jobs become more specialized. Very few people become a well-known radio personality until they have had years of work behind the scenes. And there are many different types of radio stations. There are music stations, of course, that cover a wide range of music styles from hip hop to country to rock. There are news stations that only report the news all day and night. There are non-commercial stations like the Public Broadcasting System. Whatever your interests, you can probably find a station that you would like to work for.

Television
In addition to broadcast stations, many cable television networks also depend on cable TV systems and satellite systems to deliver their programs. This industry continues to grow and is now almost as big as the broadcast industry.

There are not as many television stations as radio stations, but there are still many hundreds of them in the United States. They are mostly in medium to large size cities. Some are part of national networks like ABC, NBC, CBS, or FOX; while others are known as "independents". Like the radio industry, there are jobs in management, sales, production, news, and on-air talent. TV stations need a lot of people to produce programs like news shows, talk shows, and other public affairs programs. They need production workers to run cameras, edit, write, and direct programs.

There is also a huge industry of video production outside of these more well-known outlets. Video has become so popular that hospitals, corporations, schools, and governments have jobs for people to create video productions specifically targeted to their audiences. There is a very large educational video market for training people in almost every kind of job you can think of.

Film
The film industry is probably the most exciting for people thinking about a career in media. Everyone loves to go to the movies, and creating a movie seems even more exciting. However, it takes hundreds of people to make one movie, and most jobs are behind the scenes. It can take many years in the industry before you can get a job on a Hollywood film, and many people never to get to work on one. But like television, there are many jobs outside Hollywood that include documentary films, nature films, and other independent films made for the educational market.

Training and Jobs
Each industry has characteristics that are different when it comes to learning how to do the job and the various job environments. You can learn to do many of the jobs by going to a trade school or professional school, usually run by people who work in the film and television industries. Some community colleges offer Associate Degrees in radio and television production, and there are 4 –year universities offering degrees in Radio, Television, and Film.

Many of the jobs are called "free-lance" positions. This means that you are really in business for yourself and someone hires your services for a limited amount of time. Once the television show or film is finished, you are out looking for another job. People sometimes move around a lot, following the work wherever it goes. If you are looking for a more traditional, stable job, you will have better luck in radio or television. Almost everyone in the media industry has more than one career. You may start out as a camera operator, then become an editor, then begin writing, and finally be producing or directing. Your first job is only the beginning of the adventure.

Salaries and pay scales vary widely from market to market and job to job. When you are first starting out, you might only make $15,000 - $20,000 per year. How fast your pay increases depends on many, many factors. Usually you need to move up to larger markets to earn more pay. However, there are situations where you are working on a program that becomes very successful, very fast; and then there is usually lots of money to be made! As we often say in the business, "Success is about luck and timing".

So Good Luck!

Editorial provided by Scott Cook at the Department of Radio, Television, and Film at University of North Texas