Software engineer Sanjeev Shukla, 24, can easily hold on to his job in Sysarris Software in Bangalore. Instead he's working hard to become a veejay. He auditioned for the recent MTV VJ Hunt. His present job can't give what is "more important than the big bucks": fame. With the boom in the ice (information, communication and entertainment) sector, earlier considered undependable, talkathon career options like video-jockeying (veejaying), disc-jockeying (deejaying) and radio-jockeying (RJaying) have become extremely popular. A "jockey" appendage to your name is great, mixing music at a disc is an individualistic art, yappy VJs are icons and smooth-talking RJs are stars on their own right.

More than the popularity, what is surprising is the profile of those wanting to enter this shoot-your-mouth-off business. There are many with the traditional jockey profile-models and Miss Indias, aspiring actors and college comperes-but also in the queue are professionals from conventional fields. "We have chartered accountants, pilots, teachers, marine biologists and 3d animators auditioning to become VJs," says Natasha Malhotra, vice-president, Production and Programming, MTV. "Even NRI professionals from Canada and Australia have come down for this." Others in the know underline the evolution of rjaying, deejaying and veejaying into long-term, well-paying vocations to explain their popularity as a career option.

Channel V's spokesperson insists that veejaying salaries are comparable to that of "very highly paid senior executives". That would mean a starting figure of Rs 25,000-30,000 a month extending to Rs 1 lakh or more depending on the popularity of the TV anchor. Radio jockeys can rake in about Rs 10,000 a month to begin with and end up drawing more than Rs 50,000. Assistant DJs may get only a couple of thousands but the returns can be high if the jockey is in demand as a freelancer, as high as Rs 1 lakh.

Good money for doing fun stuff-playing music, talking about it, interviewing celebs, travelling and interacting with sundry folks-is undoubtedly a big draw. But the reason spouted most often by aspiring jockeys is the same as Shukla's: to be famous, to be a mini-celeb. Jockeying with its glam factor, high visibility and ability to reach millions serves up instant fame. The uncertainty factor is minimal. Shukla is confident that "if you are a good communicator, you can survive for long". Others insure against the odds. Sunaina Gulia, 21, took off on an audition trip only after securing an advertising diploma from the Indian Institute of Mass Communications, Delhi.

In fact, the CVs of the new breed of RJs and VJs could give mainstream professionals a complex. Consider Manasi Scott. At 24, she is a Bachelor in Computer Science, has a diploma in film and television production and has even done a fair amount of scriptwriting, playback singing and live compering. This lady, who believes that rjaying and veejaying are "largely untapped fields", signed up with Radio Today (part of the India Today Group) as an RJ. Her modus operandi is to "synergise her skills in live compering, singing and rjaying as a mutually beneficial exercise".

The exercise has more than just individual following. Career portals like kulguru.com give detailed lowdowns on the jockeying professions and project them as lucrative options. YoungBuzz India Limited, a career guidance company, lists them as "cool careers". Says Dipankar Sarkar, who heads its research division: "The altered attitude of parents is an important factor. What matters to them is good money and name. These hip careers promise all that and more."

More is definitely on the cards. Rjaying swung into action when a slew of new fm channels went on air this year. In fact, the new channels are set to raise radio's 1.5 per cent share of the total ad-spend to at least 3 per cent (in other countries it ranges between 5 and 15 per cent, with neighbouring Sri Lanka scoring a high of 14 per cent). With band waves spooling in sponsors, there is money in the air for the jockeys.

Loquacious folks, who were busy doing voice-overs till now, know that. The WIN 94.6 office in Mumbai received more than 500 resumes of aspiring RJs in less than a month. But the competition means rjaying opportunities come at a price. "Radio is now a dedicated profession," says Nischint Chawla, coo, Radio Today. "You cannot RJ part-time. There's some research involved." But the new breed isn't thinking part-time either. Malishka Mendonsa, 23, an RJ with WIN 94.6, has already interned at Genesis Advertising but left it because she is "positive about rjaying being a long-term profession" and loves "the creative space it provides".

DJs too are losing their inhibitions about telling folks that playing music at night spots is what they do for a living. Amit Shah, 24, likes to say he is 95 per cent DJ. When in college he was inclined to join the family business and his passion for mixing music was "just a hobby". Now, it is a hectic profession. Shah works as the in-house DJ at Athena, a disc-cum-lounge bar in Mumbai and also runs a small DJ training school.

Megha Kawale, model and perhaps India's only female DJ, who plays at Mikanos, also in Mumbai, considers deejaying "more stable" than modelling. "It is no longer just about alcohol, a dancing crowd and partying. A DJ's work is treated with more respect now." What most DJs agree is that unlike video and radio jockeying, deejaying is still not a "complete profession". DJs often indulge in allied affairs like cutting their own albums or doing sound production.

Despite all the gloss and money, there are drawbacks. Brian Furtado, 25, who has compered BBC's Bombay Blush, feels the situation in India doesn't compare well with other countries. "VJs and even DJs here are more inhibited than their western counterparts," he says. "Being a presenter here isn't as big a deal as it is abroad. Neither is it as professional." Jayanti Ghose, a Mumbai-based career counsellor, strikes a cautionary note. "Jockeying could be dependable provided one has a specialist background or related training. Plus, the ability to reinvent oneself with the changing demands of the medium," she warns.

How many youngsters are able to sustain the VJ-RJ-DJ penchant as a long-term profession remains to be seen, but one thing is certain-many are trying very hard. And having a rocking time while at it.