How Do I Get Into Radio?

Here are the three main ways that you can get a career in radio.  All of these three ways are shrouded in that four-letter word 'luck' annoying but true - a bit of good luck even with the second, most depressing way to get a career in radio, will kick start your career.

The first way is through academic achievement, the BBC in particularl loves a swot and the best kind of swot is an Oxbridge graduate, throw in some private education from a top school and you are well on the way to being noticed.  Make sure though that your degree is in something sensible like politics. Woolly media courses cut no ice.

The second way to achieve a career is to sleep with someone from the radio (or TV) station.  Unpalatable I know, but I can make a fairly long list of career minded women and men who have chosen this path.  The Achilles heel in this method is that, unless you also have the ability and talent to back it up, you do get found out pretty quickly.

The third way is to network or just be willing to help.  I know one BBC Presenter who as a kid just used to turn up at his local station with an offer to help out, slowly over the months he was accepted, able to do more and ended up presenting a show.  Networking is all about knowing somebody who knows somebody who one day says.  "Do you know anyone who can do so and so?" and the answer comes back "Yes I have a friend who knows someone who can do that." And that someone is you.