LAST week, I began by telling you step one on the path of getting into radio.

While step one was about finding someone who’ll support and encourage you, step two is about looking out for people who will do the exact opposite.

Quite frankly, there are people out there who will screw you any way they can. I know because it happened to me.

I won’t name names because I don’t want to give these people any attention but I know for sure that one of them is still in the radio industry in Scotland.

If you search up and down your radio dial you’ll find the station.

The fact is there are people out there who will use you for their own gain.

In my instance, I was told there wasn’t enough money to pay everyone but that, once money came in, I’d be the first to get paid.

“I reward loyalty,” I was informed.

That was in 2014...and I’m still waiting for the cash.

I never saw a penny of payment from that station and I actually lost money going there, due to travel costs.

I’m still so angry about it. When you do a job, you expect to get paid. It doesn’t matter what the industry is.

And they used me for just under six months because if they had kept me they’d have had to pay me under the new Working Wage laws that came into play in Scotland.

Be aware of people like this. My advice would be that, unless you are offered a contract which makes it clear you’ll be paid, just walk away.

Trust me, you’ll be saving yourself a lot of stress.

These people are looking to prey on young, inexperienced or new presenters.

They’ll often come fishing around stations like Pulse or others because they realise if someone worked for free once they’ll keep at it.

They’ll say something like “until the station gets going commercially we can’t afford to pay everyone.”

Please, please, please. Do not believe it.

This may look like I’m just out to score points, but the truth is I’m not. I want to make sure that anyone who is interested in a career in radio is aware of the potential pitfalls.

In next week’s column, I’ll be talking about how to fall in love with radio again after you’ve encountered such problems.

I had to rebuild my career. It takes a long time but it’s worth it.