Live TV, radio, sportscasting, and podcasts, plus the control-room technicians who keep the signal on the air.
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
Live TV Director: Directs live broadcasts like sports, news, award shows, and concerts from a control room. Typical pay $110k.
Station General Manager: Runs a TV or radio station's business: ads, news, programming, and staff. Typical pay $150k.
Podcast Network Executive: Leads a podcast company or network, choosing shows and making money from ads. Typical pay $150k.
TV News Director: Runs a local TV station's newsroom: staff, coverage, and ratings. Typical pay $115k.
Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship
Radio Program Director: Decides what a radio station plays and who hosts, and manages the on-air sound. Typical pay $70k.
Podcast Producer: Plans, records, edits and publishes podcast episodes for networks, media companies or public radio, booking guests and shaping each show's story. Typical pay $65k.
Technical Director (TV): Operates the video switcher that cuts between cameras, graphics, and replays during a live show. Typical pay $70k.
Broadcast Engineer: Keeps a TV or radio station's technical systems, transmitters, and IP networks running. Typical pay $70k.
Floor Manager (TV Studio): Runs the studio floor during TV shows, giving hand signals to hosts and keeping the audience in line. Typical pay $60k.
Sports Replay Operator: Runs the instant replay systems during live sports broadcasts. Typical pay $70k.
Satellite Truck / Uplink Engineer: Drives and operates trucks that beam live video from events to the station via satellite or cellular. Typical pay $65k.
Play-by-Play Announcer: Calls the action of sports games live on TV, radio, or streaming. Typical pay $80k.
Radio Imaging Producer: Creates the sound effects, jingles, and voice-over 'sweepers' that give a station its sound. Typical pay $58k.
Color Commentator / Sports Analyst: Explains the strategy and adds insight during sports broadcasts, often as a former athlete. Typical pay $90k.
TV Promo Producer: Creates the short promos and teasers that advertise TV shows. Typical pay $70k.
Video Engineer (Shader): Adjusts every camera's color and brightness during live TV so all shots match. Typical pay $75k.
Broadcast Audio Mixer (A1): Mixes all the live sound for TV broadcasts: announcers, crowd, music, and microphones. Typical pay $85k.
International Broadcaster: Reports and hosts news in another language for U.S. international networks like Voice of America, reaching audiences overseas. Typical pay $85k.
Starter: fastest way in
Radio Host / DJ: Hosts shows on the radio: playing music, talking, interviewing guests, and taking calls. Typical pay $45k.
Podcast Host: Creates and hosts their own podcast, building an audience and earning from ads and subscriptions. Typical pay $25k.
Master Control Operator: Monitors what a TV station is broadcasting, making sure shows and ads air on time. Typical pay $45k.
Teleprompter Operator: Scrolls the script on screen at exactly the speed the host speaks. Typical pay $42k.
Broadcast Graphics Operator: Puts the score bugs, name titles, and on-screen graphics up during live broadcasts. Typical pay $50k.
Broadcast Traffic Coordinator: Schedules the exact timing of every commercial and program on a TV or radio station's log. Typical pay $45k.
Traffic Reporter: Reports live traffic conditions on radio and TV, sometimes from a helicopter. Typical pay $45k.
Radio Board Operator: Runs the audio board during live radio shows, playing ads and taking callers. Typical pay $36k.
Radio Promotions Coordinator: Runs radio station contests, events, and the van at local festivals. Typical pay $42k.
Cue Card Operator: Hand-writes lines on big cue cards and holds them beside the camera for hosts and actors on live TV like sketch comedy and late-night shows. Typical pay $50k.
Public Media Underwriting Representative: Sells the short sponsor messages you hear on public radio and TV ('Support comes from...') to local businesses. Typical pay $50k.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.