How Do You Become an Editor?

Are you wondering how to become an editor? Perhaps this is a career you’d be interested in pursuing, and you’re curious about the education and credentials you’ll need. Read on for more details about how to get started with a career in editing.

Education

You’ll typically need to earn a college degree if you want to become an editor. A bachelor’s degree is a minimum requirement. Your major course of study can vary depending on the specific type of editing job you want to pursue. Degrees in journalism, communications, English and creative writing all have general relevance.

If you want to pursue a career in technical editing or editing nonfiction, it might be worthwhile to major in a subject related to the field you’re interested in. A degree in one of the sciences is ideal if you want to pursue work as an editor of a medical research journal or a scholarly scientific publication.

Work Experience

Some editors begin their careers by working as reporters, writers or assistant editors.
Candidates who have experience with finding interesting stories, nurturing other writers’ talents and interacting with journalists have relevant experience that would be beneficial when pursuing editing jobs.

Which Industries Utilize Editors?

The publishing industry employs the greatest percentage of editors. This industry includes organizations primarily focused on publishing newspapers, magazines, books and directories.”Other information services” is a vague designation given to another group that employs significant numbers of editors. This group includes digital media publishers that primarily focus on content creation for the internet and social media.

Academia has a need for editorial expertise. Universities, colleges and other schools hire editors to work on their publications. Media outlets hire editors to work on their television and radio broadcasts. Other industries and nonprofit organizations hire editors as well. Any industry that has a demand for trade publications generally also has a role for editors to fulfill.

Which Location Is Best for Finding a Job as an Editor?

Data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that editors live in every state in the USA. They’re concentrated in greater quantities in metropolitan areas, particularly in New York City, the Washington, D.C. area, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Seattle, San Francisco and Dallas. Living in or moving to one of these cities is likely to be beneficial when looking for work as an editor.

Where to Find More Information About Becoming an Editor

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics maintains detailed information about editors’ salaries, job descriptions, training requirements, future job outlook, general industry trends and more. You should also search major book publications employment pages.

Related Resource: What Careers are in Bioengineering?

We hope this information is useful to you as you plan your career and make decisions relating to your future education. Now that you have a clearer understanding of how to become an editor, you can make more informed choices about which courses would be relevant to your future career.

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