Technology has wreaked havoc in the job market. And the current economy shows the unemployment rate at before 4%. Those factors change the dynamics that impact the hiring – and firing – of American workers.
These conditions have changed the ways in which various professions are valued – by consumers and job-seekers alike. Right now, a new USA Today story highlights the 25 worst jobs in America, based on a 247 Wall St. analysis of 2018 CareerCast data. The countdown is based on factors like job security, work environment, stress, and compensation.
I’ll spare you the drama and hassle of having to scroll through the entire list. The worst job in the U.S., based on this study, is driving a taxi cab. Louie DePalma might disagree, but based on the bad hours, the mediocre pay, and other negative factors, it’s at the bottom of this ignominious ranker. And with Uber and Lyft rising in popularity, the contrast to the typical taxi cab experience is becoming more evident over time.
It seems like there’s one of these dreadful workforce studies every year that captures headlines. And year in and year out, radio broadcasting careers (and related gigs) continue to show up as undesirable. It’s notable that a newspaper – USA Today – gave this story prominent coverage. The position of newspaper reporter comes in as the third worst job on this list.
This year, however, is a rare trifecta for radio. Three positions – broadcaster, DJ, and ad sales rep – clock in at #7, 8, and 9 on this list. Here are the lowlights:
#9 – Advertising salesperson – True, this position isn’t necessarily a radio station rep, and in fact, the analysis refers to the dwindling number of 
newspaper jobs. But a look around most stations’ cubicles reveals that fewer are occupied these days. The CareerCast survey projects that over the next decade, these positions will pay 3.6% less than they do now, with fewer positions available.
#8 – Broadcaster – The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a drop of 3.2% in overall jobs in the U.S. over the next 10 years. They note that while many broadcasters have college degrees, the mean annual salary for these positions is just over $49,000 – just a shade over the median pay scale for all jobs in America.
#7 – Disc jockeys – Coming in just ahead of corrections office, the report notes DJs “are projected to face one 
of the most challenging working environments in the future.” Blaming a tough job market on audio streaming, podcasts, and other entertainment options. They report a staggering decline of 11.6% for DJ jobs, nothing the average salary of $34K is more than $3,500 below the average job in the U.S.
So, that’s the good news – another prominent national study that pegs radio broadcasting jobs (and those in related industries) among the worst in the country.
These clickbait surveys often work because we love lists, and they are wonderful Internet time killers. But we’re talking careers – and there are many who take these annual reports seriously.
Somehow in the sea of data provided by CareerCast, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other sources used to compile this list, I don’t see the researchers taking job satisfaction into account. Instead, it’s about salary, danger, stress levels, public scrutiny, and other factors.
I don’t have data for radio sellers or broadcasters in general. So, any feedback I could provide on their current state of mind is purely anecdotal.
But with air talent, we have the metrics, thanks to the AQ study of 1,100 radio personalities conducted last spring along with Don Anthony’s Morning Show Boot Camp.
Here’s the key data point that jumps out at me every time I open our AQ PowerPoint deck:
Because it’s fun, to entertain, and emotional fulfillment are the top three reasons “disc jockeys” feel about their profession. When eight of every ten respondents say that being on the air is fun, I’m hard-pressed to think of any job in the U.S. that could match that level of satisfaction. And when a majority say it’s emotionally fulfilling to be on the radio, I just don’t run into too many of my friends outside our business who feel that way about what they do for a living – whether they’re teachers, lawyers, social workers, or physicians.
But don’t take my word for it. Tomorrow’s JacoBLOG will go right to the horses’ mouths – in this case, a radio sales rep, program manager, and yes, air talent to take their temperature in 2019. How’s that radio career going? How do they feel about having chosen one of the “worst” jobs in America? And what’s their outlook for the future?
Johnny Paycheck’s feeling about his job (and what you could do with it) turned into a hit record. For the radio workforce, let’s find out if the sentiment is the same.
Here’s one of Country’s original “outlaws” singing his biggest hit, always a great way to start a work week:
AQ2 goes into the field this spring, and will be presented at Morning Show Boot Camp this August in Chicago. Details here.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Maybe they feel happy about getting to keep their job. I do some part time stuff on the weekends in Nashville but I left my main gig for better hours, better pay and a far better work life balance. I don’t see many appealing radio gigs up for grabs anymore. Station owners don’t want to pay a talent what they’re worth (just like the VO industry) but they don’t want to train anyone either. In my opinion music radio is on that long march to obsolescence. Sports and news talk will/should be fine but even then podcasting will begin to take bigger chunks as people bypass PDs and corporate “decisions” about talent and listen to who they want without needing a radio station to gate keep for them. It used to be a fun industry but now everyone I know is always waiting for the axe to fall.
Mike, no doubt there is more fear and loathing inside radio circles than there once was. Thte sad truth is that whether we’re talking music or spoken word radio, it’s all about the talent. A comment on Friday’s post from WXPN’s Bruce Warren says it all: “(Radio’s) secret sauce is personality.” If owernship doesn’t embrace this, the doommsday scenario you write about will become a reality. Thanks for the comment.
Radio is thriving. It’s the Wall St owned, debt laden radio companies who are failing. They are delivering a consistently obsolete and unimaginative product, and audiences are leaving for radio that is less lucrative for the talent. Since 80-some% of the radio stations are owned by a handful of companies, you bet it’s a tough work environment.
The work itself can be a joy, if it’s allowed to be, but most of the openings these days involve doing 5 things at once for minimum wage in formats that have been the same for 2 generations. Radio is still great and thriving. Just not in the Wall St. sector of the business.
I agree the work environment has become much more challenging in recent years. That said, talk to people outside of radio who work for law firms, hospitals, and other service industries. Chances are, their workloads are up, staffing is lower, and the quality of life isn’t what it used to be. We’re all “on call” 24/7/365 because of our mobile phone business environment, expected to perform all the time. Is radio any worse? I’m just askiing.
Adapt and change. In small and medium markets if you have the desire to sell along with other responsibilties, jobs are available. The days of the four hour air shift, one hour of production, and a remote are coming to a close. Even with a multiple station group you are most likely to track one or two stations and do production. I start my day tracking, or a limited live shift if I have guests. The rest of the day I’m doing promotions, sales, cold calling, events, etc. Some advice: The key to this new age of broadcast is to do it all. Sales, marketing, promotions, creative, social, even engineering. Your chances of employment are greater with the skills listed. I get over a dozen calls a month from talent. 1 or less every three months for the skills I listed. Adapt and change or the the future for many is bleak.
See my comment to Larry, Damon. “Doing it all” is the mantra – not just at radio station, but at Jacobs Media and many companies like ours. Thanks for the wake-up call.
I’ve hung drywall. I’ve been a cook. A bartender and myriad other jobs. Radio is the worlds best kept secret. Sure there are stresses and frustrations about ratings which at times you can’t control but I’ll stay right here laughing and having fun as long as they will have me and try to wear out my welcome if I haven’t already.
Im well aware how lucky I am to have made a career of entertaining people.
Of this, there is no doubt. I think about this every day when I get my morning coffee, pick up the dry cleaning, or stop for groceries. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t thank my lucky stars I was fortunate enough to end up here. Thanks, Lazlo.
I have worked in radio for over 20 years. I love it, but the reason I love it is the ability to reach people and entertain. I got into radio listening to some of the greats, Brandmeier, Dahl, Matthews, Winston, the list goes on. Radio was different then. There were great personalities. There still are great personalities, but programmers are stifling them. I am a father of 4 teenagers, they could care less about radio these days. It’s podcasts, and Youtube live streams that they are into. So I have been paying attention to what they are watching and listening to, they are going there for entertainment they can’t get on the radio. Ironically it’s a lot of the same stuff that got me hooked on radio!!! I like music, but that’s not what made me want to be on the radio. Teenagers and young adults (everyone) have so many options to hear music these days they can listen to their favorite song in an instant. Hell, my kids don’t really listen to artists they can hear on the radio, they are artists that aren’t even getting airplay. The content the future “listeners” want is NOT on the radio. It needs to be, it is the same material myself and others were doing in the 80’s and 90’s, the stuff that made me fall in love with the medium. The theater of the mind seems to be gone, it’s sad. Another problem I see today, great radio(entertaining content) is work, not enough people are willing to put that work in. When I did morning radio, it was a 10 hour a day job. That was prep, show, prep, prep, prep, sleep, repeat. Throw a few appearances in there a couple of times a week. I could ramble on about this for hours. Would it do any good, probably not.
Ray, I believe the work ethnic in the radio business is as good as it’s ever been – seriously. And I go to Morning Show Boot Camp, and I see air talent as excited about the business as any of the names you mentioned. And let’s face it – it’s more difficult today. The radio business isn’t in ascending mode. When I got into radio, stations and the people who owned them couldn’t get out of the way of the money. It was truly an easy business, truth be told.
We are on the same page that personalities aren’t valued to the degree they should be. This works both ways, but at the end of the day, music is a commodity. The people who entertain, inform us, make us laugh, piss us off, and even surprise us are, in fact, “the secret sauce.” Thanks for engaging.
Great read, Fred. I think your key line was, “I don’t see the researchers taking job satisfaction into account.” The fact of the matter is “fun,” “entertaining” and “fulfilling” offset a LOT of negatives–negatives that to one extent or another are in virtually every industry.
I don’t know one person doing full-time radio that doesn’t love it despite the challenges–or one person who even got into it to begin with because they DIDN’T love it.
It’s not for everyone, but for most who are in it, we wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Thanks, Fred.
Here, here, Dave. Thanks for the affirmation.
How is it “Actor” is never on the list?
At any given moment, more than 80% of the workforce is unemployed, the pay is generally crap unless you are union (and even THEN…), you are often left to fend for yourself in any situation and roll with whatever comes your way, and your work (your look, your voice or your style) can be stolen and used forever and there’s nothing you can do about it. I have actually seen (and turned down) work agreements where one’s likeness can be used “in mediums now or yet to be invented”, and “throughout the Universe”. What kind of work contract is that?
I work in D.C. radio and am a part-time actor myself for whatever TV and movie projects move through my region. I get it. But until occupations like Actor, Pet Crematorium Operator, Overnight Motel Clerk and other REAL downer jobs are included on these lists, articles like this are mostly meaningless to me.
Alan, it makes no sense. And I coudln’t agree more with your observations.