Disc Jockeys
Overview
Introduction
Disc jockeys (DJs) play recorded music for broadcast, satellite, and Internet radio stations or for parties, dances, and special events. On the radio, they intersperse music with a variety of advertising material and informal commentary. They may also perform such public services as announcing the time, the weather forecast, travel times, or important news. Interviewing guests and making public service announcements may also be part of the DJs work. Approximately 26,500 radio disc jockeys and broadcast announcers and 21,000...
Quick Facts
Median Salary
Employment Prospects
Minimum Education Level
Experience
Skills
Personality Traits
Earnings
The salary range for radio disc jockeys and broadcast announcers is extremely broad, with the lowest 10 percent earning less than $24,400 a year in May 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The mean annual salary was $44,890. The top 10 percent earned $127,560 or more. Fifty percent of radio disc jockeys and broadcast announcers earned between $30,920 and $66,070. Radio disc jo...
Work Environment
Work in radio stations is usually very pleasant. Almost all stations are housed in modern facilities. Temperature and dust control are important factors in the proper maintenance of technical electronic equipment, and people who work around such machinery benefit from the precautions taken to preserve it.
The work can be demanding. It requires that every activity or comment on the air be...
Outlook
According to Nielsen, radio reached 91 percent of all Americans age 18 and over every week in 2023. Despite radios popularity, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) projects that employment of announcers will decline by 4 percent from 2023 to 2033. As a result, competition for jobs will be great in an already competitive field (especially in top radio markets such as New York and Chicago).
...
