Major career change pays off
Damon Adams, breakfast show co-host, Power FM
What is your job like on an average day?
I get in between 5am and 5.30am, then my co-host (Kristel Dally) and I are live 6am to 9am.
Post that, there are a number of things to wrap up the day and prepare for the next. I am also manager of promotions for Power FM and 5MU, setting up competitions and things like that.
Why did you make a career change?
I’d been teaching for 10 years and was heading down a pretty set path into leadership… but radio was something I was itching to do when I came out of school.
My wife and I had our second child ... and that led me to take long service leave. I had about four months off and thought I may as well look at doing a radio course and seeing what that’s like. I went to the first night at Australian Radio School and I remember getting that spark.
Was it scary?
I’ve got two kids under five and a mortgage and I decided to quit my job. I re-registered my teaching so gave myself three years to figure it out so it was more calculated risk, but still risky nonetheless.
How did your teaching experience transfer?
You are talking all day in both jobs. You are thinking of creative ways to sell information and do it in a way to keep people awake and engaged.
How did you make the transition?
I did a lot behind the scenes for 12 months before I took the leap and still left myself a safety net to fall back on.