Newspaper or magazine editor

Entry Requirements:

You can get into this job through:

• a university course
• working towards this role
• training with a professional body

University

You'll usually start by doing a degree in English, journalism or media studies.

You can do a postgraduate qualification in publishing or journalism if your first degree is not related to the industry.

If you want to work for a specialist publication like a medical or scientific journal, you'll likely need a:

• degree or postgraduate qualification in a relevant subject
• high level of specialist knowledge

Entry requirements:

• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English
• 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
• a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course

Entry requirements:

Entry requirements:

Work

You can start as a reporter or journalist with a regional newspaper or magazine and work your way up. There's a lot of competition for jobs so you may have an advantage if you've got a relevant degree.

Volunteering

You'll need to get some experience before applying for your first job in publishing. To build up your experience you can:

• volunteer for student and community newspapers
• keep an online blog
• have an online presence on sites such as Twitter
• submit articles and reviews to local papers or websites

This is also a good way to develop contacts, as many jobs are not advertised.

OtherRoutes

You could take a proofreading or editing course, like the ones offered by the National Council for the Training of Journalists , the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading and The Publishing Training Centre .

Required Skills:

Digital skills : to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Skills:

• knowledge of English language
• knowledge of media production and communication
• the ability to read English
• excellent verbal communication skills
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• excellent written communication skills
• the ability to work well with others
• to be flexible and open to change
• the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
• the ability to use your initiative
• thinking and reasoning skills
• active listening skills
• the ability to think clearly using logic and reasoning
• the ability to organise your time and workload
• knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
• administration skills
• business management skills
• concentration skills
• a good memory
• the ability to work well with your hands

What you'll do:

Newspaper and magazine editors manage the style and content of printed publications.

Depending on the publication you work for as an editor, you could:

• commission articles
• choose which articles to publish
• decide on the layout for publishing
• assess work sent from freelance journalists, photographers and illustrators

Location : You could work in an office.

Salary:

Starter : £25,000
Experienced : £50,000

These figures are a guide

Working hours:

37 - 39 hours variable

Working Pattern is evenings / weekends flexibly

Career Path:

With experience as a local newspaper editor, you could move on to regional publications. Then you could work at national publications.

You could become editor-in-chief of a group of newspapers or magazine publishers.