How To Become An Art Editor: What It Is and Career Path

What is an art editor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Viola Ardeni

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an art editor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $23.98 an hour? That's $49,871 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -5% and produce -5,500 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to an art editor?

Viola Ardeni

Assistant Professor & Italian Language Area Head, California State University - Sacramento

To recent graduates in any field, I would recommend making sure they are doing two things: 'Ask questions' and 'Show up.' In the Romance languages, literatures, and linguistics field, asking questions may mean asking for a long of informational interviews, even in places where there are no current jobs openings. You never know what you will learn from talking to someone who is working and has your same degree. Asking questions also means to be present, aware, and critical. Showing up may instead mean trying different things. Besides teaching, there is no clear job following degrees in Romance languages etc. (and even 'teaching' includes a variety of jobs), so taking advantage of different opportunities may come in handy.

ScoreArt EditorUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $49,871

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.7

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.27%

Asian 7.25%

Black or African American 3.58%

Hispanic or Latino 8.12%

Unknown 4.59%

White 76.20%

Gender

female 64.76%

male 35.24%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.3

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an art editor

Explore art editor education requirements

Most common art editor degrees

Bachelor's

80.7 %

Master's

8.0 %

Associate

5.6 %

Start to develop specific art editor skills

Skills	Percentages
Adobe Indesign	11.47%
Adobe Photoshop	10.65%
Literature	10.19%
Graphic Design	6.47%
Student Newspaper	6.23%

Complete relevant art editor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New art editors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an art editor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real art editor resumes.

Research art editor duties and responsibilities

Assign, edit, and proofread arts and culture sections; manage four arts writers.
Work cooperatively with the managing editor and the editor-in-chief.
Manage freelance talent and editorial calendar to produce multiple weekly editions on deadline.
Have final say in what artwork gets publish in the literature and art magazine.

Prepare your art editor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your art editor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an art editor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable art editor resume templates

Build a professional art editor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your art editor resume.