20-Year Prospect
Video killed the radio star...at least, that's what The Buggles would have us believe. When it comes to your career, however, video's the least of your problems.
Technological progress is leaving DJs in the dust. First, there's voice tracking, a practice used by many radio stations that allows them to kick local DJs to the curb and instead use segments pre-recorded by a single DJ based hundreds, or even thousands, of miles away. It's kind of like out-sourcing, except station managers are taking their business to Atlanta instead of India.
Why would radio stations be so cruel as to strip local DJs of their livelihoods? It's all about the moolah: In 2001, a radio station could save $50,000 per year per shift voice-tracked (source).
And then there's the rise of Internet radio—beautiful, beautiful Internet radio, where you can pay a little money and bypass those super-annoying ads for used car dealerships and generic national food chains. A report put out by eMarketer in 2013 predicts that fifty-four percent of Americans will be tuning in to Internet radio by 2016 (source). That's a lot of ears listening to music that's DJ-free.
These and other changes in technology are why the Bureau of Labor Statistics claims your career field is going to be as stagnant as a pond for the foreseeable future. In other words, your job might still be around in twenty years...but don't count on making a living doing it.