Radio Jockeying (RJ) Courses: Admissions 2024, Entrance Exams, Syllabus, Top Colleges, Job Profiles and Top Recruiters

You can also complete one year Diploma courses in radio jockey radio programming and broadcast management radio production and radio jockeying or radio management. Some radio jockeys have four-year college degrees in media studies mass communication languages linguistics telecommunications or acting.

In general, an RJ's role is to inform, update, and entertain its listeners. Their job entails presenting numerous music programmes and entertaining the audience with other components such as interviews with guests, musicians, artists, and well-known individuals, either related to the music or not - delivering commentary on a music piece, and managing listener requests.

Some of the qualities that a Radio Jockey should have a Good voice, accurate dictation, clear punctuation, fluent language, creativity and a sense of humour.

Hi,

The qualities and skills that are must for a radio jockey (RJ) are:

• A radio jockey should be diplomatic in character as he/she has to interact with people of different nature
• He / she must maintain a down-to-earth and approachable attitude so that listeners can comfortably make calls and speak their hearts out
• Must be connected with music to do well in this particular field
• Good command over language - especially Hindi and English
• One should be aware of what’s happening around
• Needs to love music and be flexible in music choices
• A good knowledge of the local market and a solid network with agencies and local retail shops

A degree along with RJ course always helps in a long run. The role of an RJ is to inform, update and entertain. Also known as Radio DJs, their work involves presenting various music programmes and entertaining the audience through other elements like interviews of guests - musicians, artists and well-known personalities, either related to the music/film profession or even otherwise- providing commentaries related to a music piece and manage requests of listeners.

If you are really interested in a radio jockey career, it is very important for you to be spontaneous, spunky and have a pleasing, friendly personality. A good voice and a strong command over language is always a good thing when you're looking to make a career in this field.

To become a good radio jockey, research is the key, like in every other field. You need to listen to good radio jockeys so that you can understand their style and later, with practice, develop your own. You need to understand what the masses need and give them just that.

Radio Jockey Eligibility Criteria What matters the most in this career path is, obviously your voice. Your diction and pronunciation should be clear. You need to know how to modulate the pitch and tenor of your voice. For different radio programmes, you will have to modulate your voice differently, so you must keep that in mind.

Having a degree can act as a basic entry ticket to various stations, but a candidate having some experience and any type of documentation to validate the same will take them a long way. It is always advisable to do some intern work before applying for a full-fledged job.

Students can secure their admission in Mass Communication and Media colleges in India as per their Class 12 result or some universities also take entrance exams like CUET, CUET PG,   etc.

Yes, you can pursue a PG Diploma course in Radio Jockeying.

Many of the top colleges for Journalism and Mass Communication in India offer admissions based on the performance of candidates in the university level or state level entrance exam. Some of the exams are – IIMC Entrance Exam, XIC OET by Xavier Institute of Communications, DUET,  ACJ Entrance Exam, UPU CET by Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Jamia Millia Islamia Entrance Exam and more.

No, there is no specific entrance exams for the programme. But, to get admissions to few colleges like Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication, IIMC, XIC and more, they have their own entrance exams like IIMC Entrance Exam,  XIC OET and more.

There are certificate courses for 3 months of time duration:

• Certificate Course in Professional Radio Jockeying
• Certificate Course in Professional Voice Culture
• Certificate Course in Radio Script-writing
• Certificate Course in Audio Production for Radio
• One-Year Diploma in Radio Station Operations & Management

The duration of Radio Jockeying courses depends on the type of programme you pursue. While certificate courses are usually of six months, the duration of Diploma programmes typically ranges from one-two years.

Listed below are some popular books one can refer to for the programme:

• The Radio Jockey Hand Book by Simran Kohli
• Romance the Microphone: Be a Radio Jockey by Swaty Gupta
• Encyclopaedia of Journalism and Mass Communication by OM Gupta
• Fundamentals of Radio Broadcasting by John Hasling
• How to Become a Radio DJ: A Guide to Breaking and Entering by Mike Staff

Some of the top and popular colleges are:

• Lady Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi
• Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
• Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai
• The Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmadabad
• Zee Institute of Media Arts, Mumbai
• Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune
• Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi
• Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication, Dwarka

Few names of the abroad universities that provide Radio Jockey Course are:

• Macquarie University
• Syracuse of Salford
• Centennial College of Applied Arts and Technology
• Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
• Syracuse University

Radio Jockeying is a talent based field. Even though no formal educational qualification is required, a degree or at least plus two is generally a pre-requisite.

The most essential factor for a Radio Jockey is a good voice with the ability to modulate as per the occasion. Apart from that, an RJ should have a clear diction, accurate pronunciation, flare and fluency in the language. They should be able to control the pitches of their voice and learn to use them to the best effect.

Another distinguishing characteristic to become a successful radio jockey is the speed of response, good sense of humor, individuality, creativity of mind, spontaneity and an intensive knowledge of music. Successful RJs have the ability to twist and turn their speech according to the situation. 

Staying updated is very important for a radio jockey. An RJ needs to keep track of the happenings in and around the city. People will enjoy listening to an RJ, if they can sound different on the show. So qualities like mimicry, local dialects and comedy or humor items will help the RJ to carry on their shows.

Regards.

The beginners in the initial stage can earn between Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 15,000 per month. For sponsored programs, software producing companies may pay between Rs 1400 to Rs 2500 per show. After a few years of experience, the earnings can be raised double and depending on the popularity of their shows, RJ's can earn between Rs 15,000 up to Rs 85,000 per month. If you are recognized, then you will have all the right to demand your own price.

In India, as per Glassdoor, the starting or base salary of a radio jockey starts with Rs 30,000. However, as you grow and gain more experience, the salary package increases with time.

Dear Sneha,

You may do a short-term course from DU or RK Films for RJ to learn about the basic of it. Also, to become an anchor you need to have the face value and in the case of radio jockey you need to be spontaneous and have a goof command on your language as these are the things which are not taught during the course.

The names of some popular stations a Radio Jockey can go for are:

• All India Radio
• Red FM (93.5)
• Radio Mirchi (98.3)
• Big FM (92.7)
• Fever (104 FM)