Editor essential career information:
- 2011 median pay: $53,880
- 2011, number of jobs: 99,040
- Employment growth forecast, 2010-2020: 1 percent
- Entry-level education requirements: Bachelor’s degree
Editors; what they do:
Editing is a dream job for perfectionists, as the editor’s role is to assure writing intended for publication is flawless. Editors are responsible for planning, reviewing, and revising content prior to publication.
Although most people think of editors as those who double-check work for spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors, they actually do far more than just that. An editing career includes planning and mapping out entire publications.
Editors fact check stories and articles, they consider the voice of an article and rewrite sections if necessary to keep the voice consistent, and they make the sometimes-difficult call of what to publish and what not to publish.
An editing career usually involves managing a team of writers and working closely with them on a regular basis. Editors help writers come up with ideas for stories or articles, they make changes to the text, suggest titles or headlines, and set writers’ deadlines. All final versions of stories and articles are read and either approved or rejected by the editor.
Editors on staff may include: Copy editors, publication assistants, executive editors, assistant editors, and managing editors.
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Editors job titles:
- Copy Editor
- Freelance Editor
- Assistant Editor
- Content Editor
- News Editor
- Book Editor
- Text Editor
- Magazine Editor
- Executive Editor
- Web Content Editor
Editors Education, Certification and License Requirements
An editing career typically begins with a Bachelor of Communications, Bachelor of English, or Bachelor of Journalism degree. Obtaining an editing job in a specific field may require specific field work experience in the field. Many employers seek editors proficient in computer operations such as electronic publishing, graphics, web design, and multimedia publications.
Editor programs cover subjects such as:
- Speech
- Composition
- Poetry
- Persuasive writing
- Technical writing
- Communication
- Creative writing
- English
Editors don’t need specific certifications or licenses.
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Career Advancement Opportunities
Editors are generally already in management positions, so they may advance in their career through overseeing larger groups of writers or moving up to edit at a larger organization or a more prestigious publication. Copy editors may advance to working on their own original writing or becoming a freelancer and work for themselves.
Editors Job Outlook
Forecast: 1 percent employment growth from 2010 to 2020 for editors, much slower than the average for all occupations.
The little-to-no employment growth projected for editors is primarily due to the decline for editors in traditional editing jobs in printed materials such as newspapers and magazines as they move online. There are some jobs for online editors.
Editors Salary
- 2011 median annual wage: $53,880
- 2011, workers at the 75th percentile annual wage: $74,400
- 2011, workers at the 25% percentile annual wage: $39,150
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Editors Major Employers
- Newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers
- Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations
- Professional, scientific, and technical services
- State, local, and private colleges, universities, and professional schools
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