People that work in radio are Rich. Or so many people believe. When I first got into radio as a senior in high school back in 1974, I remember the oohs and ahhs that kids would make when they found out I worked in radio. “You must make LOTS of Money” was always what I was told.
Sadly I had to burst their bubbles of misinformation. I would tell them that maybe the DJ’s in NYC or LA were rich…but us local DJ’s were not so blessed. They never believed me. I guess they thought I just did not want to admit I was rich to keep them from asking me to loan them some money.
Now working in radio does have work perks. You meet interesting people every day. Most of the people you work with are interesting as well. Everyone has a unique story of how they got into radio. In years past you also got to rob File 13 aka the trash can for all the records or CD’s, you could carry home.
Some times you get tickets to events and concerts. Or you get in Free as a part of the job. But the best perk, in my opinion, is the fact I can wear almost any kind of clothing. I mean no one sees me on the radio. A blessing to me and the listeners. Now we do have some fancy dressers here at the station. But they also are free to be comfortable and casual if they wish.
Now before you quit your day job and try to get into radio yourself to take advantage of all these amazing work perks I have a warning. Remember, radio is on 24/7 365 days a year. Do you want to work those hours? The best thing for you to do is to keep working where you are and just keep listening to the radio. (Download our Free App) You can wear whatever you want and just wonder what the DJ you are listening to is wearing…or if they are wearing anything at all? Yep, Radio has lots of Work Perks. That’s why I work in radio. Plus, the Witness Protection folks told me the Mafia would never find me here.