Sureshnie Rider gets real about how tough it was to break into the radio industry

Ask anyone in the media industry and they will probably tell you that their family wasn’t supportive of their decision to venture along the media path.

Many broadcasting legends have shared similar tales about their passion to “make it big” as a popular radio personality.

Sureshnie Rider is no different, except that she had more pressure from her strict, conservative Indian family to choose a career path that would guarantee her security.

Listen to her money lessons with Sumitra Nydoo on My Money and Me:

 

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Started from the bottom

“My family came from humble beginnings, so I knew university wasn’t going to be easy. My parents always pushed us academically and I knew if I wanted to make my dreams come true, that I would need a bursary.”

Growing up in an Indian household can be restrictive, with many parents placing an emphasis on their daughters securing their future through marriage.

“My parents didn’t feel that my calling to be a journalist was secure. I remember my dad telling my mom to just let me study whatever I wanted and then they would get me married.”

The radio industry is tough to break into, as a woman even more so

The reality is that journalism doesn’t pay as well as people think. People look at radio personalities and think they must live these large lives and it’s not always the case. As a freelancer, Sureshnie needed to push harder and sometimes find other revenue streams to make it through.

Moving to Johannesburg was her first real shove into the big, bad world where she had to learn about budgeting and had expenses to manage like rent and groceries.

The ambitious radio personality leaves the SABC after 18-years with the broadcaster and will need to find her footing again but says she is not ready to hang up her headsets just yet.

 

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