On his first day at University, Jake signed up to CSRfm – the student and community radio station for Christ Church and University of Kent. He used his first year to settle in like any student would but volunteered as much time as he could to present shows. Then in his second and third years, took on more responsibility, becoming Station Manager in his final year.

Nevertheless, as he got closer to graduating, Jake knew he needed some real-world experience of the industry. Attempts to make contact with BBC Radio Kent got nowhere. Luckily whilst working with CSRfm at the end-of-year Summer Ball at Christ Church, he met another member of the team who happened to have a brother that worked at Radio Kent. This opened the door to workshadowing opportunities and eventually led to his first shifts working freelance.

Following his graduation, Jake moved back to Essex and, as a result of his work with Radio Kent, managed to pick up some work at BBC Essex. After about six months a full-time contract came up and Jake got the job. More recently, Jake has secured some work on BBC Introducing in Essex, producing the show each week and helping the presenter to broadcast the show. 

Jake says: “My ultimate aim has and always will be to present radio full-time but it’s very difficult to get your break, with an unfortunately ever-shrinking industry. But by working in production, I’ve picked some invaluable skills and absorbed as much information as I can. It’s very easy to get quite depressed and put lots of pressure on yourself, because you haven’t reached your ultimate aim that you set out to do. But patience is a virtue and essential in this business and the saying, ‘good things that come to those who wait’ couldn’t be more true.”