Career as a Video Jockey or VJ

Updated On: 19-Jan-2023

The job of a Video Jockey or VJ is to host a music show on television. It includes announcing the viewers about the upcoming music video and other details about it like singer, lyricist, album/band/movie name etc.

Nowadays VJ job is not limited to host a music show only, they may involve into celebrity interviews, host live or reality show, chatting with public etc. With experience, a VJ may need to work on off camera work also like choosing the theme of the show, choosing the songs to play and writing script as per the theme.

If you are thinking to become a video jockey or VJ then continue reading. In this article, you'll read about:

Job description of video jockey
Education required to pursue this career
Skills required to get success in this career
Who should choose this career
Future prospects
Salary

A VJ interacts with the viewers through SMS, emails, phone or fax. The success of show depends on how attractive it is and VJ is the only person with whom the viewers interacts. It is the responsibility of the VJ to keep the viewers glued with the show.

Must Read: Career as a Video Editor

The success of a VJ depends on its followers. How many people wants to interact with him/her? To become a successful VJ, one needs to be up-to-date with the latest music trends, all the latest music videos, celebrities and about music stars.

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Video Jockey is totally a talent based field. There is no specific education or training required to become a VJ, but if you have mass communication, visual communication or performing art background then it will be advantage for you. One must be a crazy music lover to become a VJ.

If you are good looking, have attractive body language, good sense of humor, good dressing sense, a pleasant voice and like to talk a lot then definitely you can try your hand in this field. You must have good command over required language and right accent.Music channels held different VJ hunt programs time to time. They give ads on TV, newspaper, magazine etc. You have to go through a number of grinding tests to be selected. These tests includes paper test, voice test, your screen presence, physique and stand out in crowd will also get tested.

It is not easy to get break in this field, but once you selected, you may need to work on contract basis in the beginning. After this, all depends on your skills and talent, you may get to handle your own show within 6 months.To become a successful VJ, you must have the following skills:

Must have good communication skill, good command over required language and right accent.
Must have excellent knowledge of different genre of music and artists.
Should have his/her own style of presenting and communicating to attract viewers.
Should have the knowledge of other sector of world also to share interesting facts during the show.

VJ required to work for regular hours or required to tape all his/her shows in a given period of time. It can be in one hour or more, depends on the number of shows and type of show.A beginner can easily earn Rs. 25,000 or more. Once he/she got the popularity and become a known face on the screen this would be in lakhs and it keep growing with your popularity.As the number of channels increasing, the opportunities in this field are increasing. But remember this is a very uncertain field, as all music channels always looking for fresh faces and they try to replace old VJs with new every year. But it does not mean that you will be out of work.

As it is very competitive field, if you are good and popular, other channels can pick you easily. Apart from this, a VJ can adopt modelling, brand promotion, acting, anchoring stage shows and Radio Jockey field also as a career.