A memory from 1993: I had just finished my morning classes at broadcasting school and was heading to my car. A worker on lunch break from a nearby business said, "Hey, I saw you walk out of (broadcasting school.) What's it like there? What kind of broadcasting are you pursuing?"
I gave the school a generally positive review and then talked about my desire to be on the radio and ideally become a program director. Then, without prompting, I started listing all of the reasons why it was precarious to pin my hopes on a radio career.
"Radio doesn't tend to have a lot of job security," I said. "Stations change formats and personnel frequently, so people in radio often have to move from city to city. Frequently, it doesn't pay that well. Also, there's the threat of automation. Paying one DJ in one city to voice track the same shift for five classic rock stations in five different markets instead of having to pay five separate announcers saves companies a lot of money..."
As I heard myself saying all of this, I thought, "Why do I want to be in radio again? The music...That's right. Because I love music. I don't love the lack of job security, the thought of having to move constantly, or the low pay, but I love music. Right. Sound career plan there..."
There's nothing like saying your plans out loud to realize the flaws in them.
