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

What is an assistant managing editor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Allison Harl Ph.D.

Assistant managing editors work in news agencies and marketing departments to help design, plan and implement editing projects. They work alongside the managing editor to ensure that all the team's goals are met, although most of their duties focus more on the day-to-day operations of the editing team.

While no two workdays are the same, assistant managing editors typically spend their time delegating tasks to staff members, managing budgets for editing projects, supervising writer contracts, recruiting staff, and implementing writing and editing standards. Sometimes, they may also write and edit content themselves when needed.

The majority of assistant managing editors have a bachelor's degree in journalism, English, or communication. However, having a master's degree can fast-track one's career in this position and beyond. Apart from a high level of education, an aspiring assistant managing editor must have exemplary writing, copyreading, and editing skills, which they can prove through prior work experience in a subordinate position.

Assistant managing editors earn around $46 an hour, which makes up about $94,000 per year. Over time, many assistant managing editors move up the corporate ladder and become managing editors, which can earn an even higher salary.

What general advice would you give to an assistant managing editor?

Allison Harl Ph.D.

Associate Professor of English English Program Coordinator, Ferrum College

Develop as many multimedia skills as possible. Writing in the 21st century is about visual rhetoric as well as just words on a page.

ScoreAssistant Managing EditorUS Average

Salary

5.2

Avg. Salary $66,497

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 7.12%

Black or African American 3.53%

Hispanic or Latino 7.97%

Unknown 4.57%

White 76.55%

Gender

female 51.42%

male 48.58%

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 assistant managing editor

Explore assistant managing editor education requirements

Most common assistant managing editor degrees

Bachelor's

78.0 %

Master's

9.9 %

Associate

7.2 %

Start to develop specific assistant managing editor skills

Skills	Percentages
News Stories	10.80%
Website Content	10.19%
News Coverage	8.12%
SEO	6.29%
Editor-In-Chief	5.32%

Complete relevant assistant managing editor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New assistant managing 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 assistant managing editor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real assistant managing editor resumes.

Research assistant managing editor duties and responsibilities

Coordinate with editor-in-chief and managing editor to organize overall content of daily college newspaper.
Boost usability by managing content migration to iApps, leading maintenance & data/functionality QA.
Edit refresh online content to maximize SEO and write metadata for Lamaze.com.
Well verse in SEO, getting reporters out of the office and in the field.

Prepare your assistant managing editor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your assistant managing 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 assistant managing 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 assistant managing editor resume templates

Build a professional assistant managing 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 assistant managing editor resume.

Apply for assistant managing editor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an assistant managing editor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do assistant managing editors rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Assistant managing editor reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2019

Pros

Being an editor allowed me to give shape to a story or point of view that I otherwise would not have had any say in. I got to create a vision and put my mark on the work.

Cons

Ultimately you're just trying to get money from people, and because of that very few people read your newsletter. So it's just not very rewarding.