If you wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, or plumber, you would have a clear career path to follow, exams to take, practical experience to gain, and professional bodies to join. The roadmap to the chosen job would be well defined and structured. If he hadn’t achieved his dream by a certain age, he would probably have to give up.

But what if you wanted to do voice-overs for a living, or even part-time? Let’s say you harbored a dream to tell stories to children, make video game animations and voices, or host your favorite TV shows, where the hell would you start? There is no career here, there are no academic courses in colleges or universities; even a theater syllabus may not cover such a specific interest.

In the world of voice-over, there is no one-size-fits-all job: you can’t be too old, too fancy, or too ordinary; Every voice style has a market from toddler to senior and everything in between. Confusingly it all seems, well, so vague and dark. It is as if the ‘voice-over of the planet’ is a distant, impregnable, autonomous and elitist place. However, people (yes, ordinary people) become broadcasters. They are not necessarily actors or radio professionals; They come from all walks of life and bring real-world skills and experience that enrich your presentation.

So where, exactly, do you start? First, forget the idea that you must have a great voice. It’s like art: one person’s Mona Lisa is another’s pile of bricks. In other words, totally subjective. Reading, and specifically reading aloud, is the most important quality. It’s how you bring a script to life (which is someone else’s words). Practice makes perfect, so the more you read aloud, the better. Lock yourself in a quiet room and try to read short excerpts from magazines, newspapers, novels, in fact anything you can find. You could even try writing your own scripts, which will give you an idea of ​​how a customer sells a product or idea.

Then you will need to record a showreel. This will become your audio calling card; without it, no one will know what it sounds like. Keep your dashes and add variety to the mix. That means commercials (upbeat to mellow) audiobook narration, a corporate / business-type reading, interactive phone message, and (this is optional and only for the very talented) character voice montage. You can hire a local studio for a few hours, record at home if you have the facilities, or ask a professional trainer for help.

After this comes the really hard part: promoting your reel (which should be on a CD and maybe on a website as well). You can approach voice-over agents, but many of them will want experience first before considering representing you. You can achieve this by signing up for the many voice-over marketplaces that can be found on the web. They offer an opportunity for announcers to showcase their products and meet potential clients, hold auditions, and most importantly, land those jobs.

So it may be too late to become an astronaut, but your dreams of an announcing career are not out of this world.