Shortly after we launched Radio Update we added a job section to allow stations to post job openings for free. To be honest, prior to that I hadn’t looked at radio job boards in a while other than when I was posting an opening for a client. So, I was surprised to see the volume of job titles outside of the traditional positions we’ve always had in radio. Some of these weren’t that shocking and fit with a lot of what I write about, like calling on-air talent content creators and saying Brand Manager instead of Program Director (both of which some groups have been doing for years). Beyond that though, there are a wide variety of new job titles that are showing up that can give us some insight into the direction our industry is going and which positions groups currently value the most.

For instance, lately groups are looking to hire a lot more data, analytics, AI and user experience positions and they’re willing to pay a premium for those roles. Audacy has an opening for a Director of Business Transformation and Analytics in New York ($170k to $200k/yr) and a Director of AI Initiatives in Philly ($115k to $130k/yr). iHeart, who just had another round of cuts to traditional radio programming positions, has an opening for a UX Designer, a cross-platform app developer (up to $110k for a work-from-home role). Waterloo Media in Austin is looking for an SEM Specialist.

There are also significantly more video-related job opportunities in radio right now, which is part of the reason I’m constantly encouraging radio people to get into video content. Salem has a remote opening for a Brand Manager of Video Content and I’ve seen a host of Video Producer roles pop up over the past couple of months. I’ve also noticed openings for audio/video podcast hosts that may or may not be paired with an on-air shift.

Sales positions have evolved as of late as well. While there are still groups looking for traditional account executives, most of them now stipulate the kind of AE they’re looking for. Which tells me that many groups are leaning more into sales specialists instead of just teaching traditional sellers how to sell everything. Now we have Outside Sales Specialists, Digital Campaign Managers and Search Engine Marketing Account Managers. New types of sales management positions are also opening up. Townsquare has a remote opening for a Senior Director of Brand Partnerships. The listing doesn’t say the comp, but I’m guessing it’s not bad.

I still see quite a few engineering jobs being posted, many of which have been open for quite some time. The challenge there is the demand for that position is way higher than the supply of qualified and experienced broadcast engineers willing to work for the money radio allocates for that role. That’s part of the reason I partnered with DNav Inc to create 24/7 Engineering recently to help fill that void.

Don’t get me wrong, there are still traditional positions available for General Managers, Operations Managers, Program Directors, On-Air Personalities and even the occasional Promotions Director. But, all of these are few and far between and to be frank, outside of the GM role, barely pay enough to live off of anymore. Especially with a family because, depending on the state, a family of four needs to make between $178k to $301k per year now to live comfortably in the US. That’s why it’s so important that those of us who have those traditional, old school, radio skills learn to pair that with some of these new skills that radio is clearly valuing more right now.

What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.