Editors
Plan, coordinate, revise, or edit written material. May review proposals and drafts for possible publication.
Also called: Acquisitions Editor · Business Editor · Editor · Features Editor · Legal Editor · News Editor
Median pay (national)
$75,260
$36,200–$140,840 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
95,480
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+0.6%
~9,800 openings/yr
Typical entry
Bachelor's degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for editors shows an unusually wide range: the top 10% earn $140,840 versus $36,200 at the bottom 10% — 3.9x. The median of $75,260 leaves roughly 87% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +0.6% from 2024 to 2034 — slower than the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 9,800 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 51 states with released data, New York pays the most for this role (median $98,620, +31% vs the national median), while Texas sits lowest at $28,860 — a 242% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Writing, Active Listening as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags Adobe Photoshop, Content management systems CMS, Hypertext markup language HTML, Microsoft Excel as in-demand technologies for this role.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Active Learning
- Monitoring
- Learning Strategies
- Mathematics
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Read copy or proof to detect and correct errors in spelling, punctuation, and syntax.
- Verify facts, dates, and statistics, using standard reference sources.
- Read, evaluate and edit manuscripts or other materials submitted for publication, and confer with authors regarding changes in content, style or organization, or publication.
- Develop story or content ideas, considering reader or audience appeal.
- Prepare, rewrite and edit copy to improve readability, or supervise others who do this work.
- Oversee publication production, including artwork, layout, computer typesetting, and printing, ensuring adherence to deadlines and budget requirements.
- Write text, such as stories, articles, editorials, or newsletters.
- Supervise and coordinate work of reporters and other editors.
- Confer with management and editorial staff members regarding placement and emphasis of developing news stories.
- Plan the contents of publications according to the publication's style, editorial policy, and publishing requirements.
Tools & technology
- Adobe Photoshop
- Content management systems CMS
- Hypertext markup language HTML
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Word
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe Creative Cloud software
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Apple macOS
- Cascading style sheets CSS
- Extensible markup language XML
Knowledge areas
- English Language
- Communications and Media
- Administration and Management
- Administrative
- Education and Training
- Customer and Personal Service
- Computers and Electronics
- Law and Government