How To Become A Circulation Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is a circulation director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a circulation director. For example, did you know that they make an average of $28.81 an hour? That's $59,920 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 8,500 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCirculation DirectorUS Average

Salary

4.7

Avg. Salary $59,920

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.33%

Asian 4.96%

Black or African American 6.55%

Hispanic or Latino 7.90%

Unknown 3.60%

White 76.66%

Gender

female 31.51%

male 68.49%

Age - 48

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 - 48

Stress level

5.6

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.0

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.5

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a circulation director

Explore circulation director education requirements

Most common circulation director degrees

Bachelor's

72.0 %

Associate

10.5 %

High School Diploma

7.1 %

Start to develop specific circulation director skills

Skills	Percentages
Audience Development	18.66%
Newspapers	12.56%
Independent Contractors	11.04%
Expense Budget	9.69%
ABC	4.14%

Complete relevant circulation director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New circulation directors 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 a circulation director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real circulation director resumes.

Research circulation director duties and responsibilities

Manage vendor relationships for BPA audits, reader service, international mail, subscription telemarketing & corporate compliance for USPS standards.
Manage records of circulation and materials, maintain inventory, and correct cataloging errors.
Insure adherence to ABC rules and regulations.
Establish completely fund NIE program at both papers.

Prepare your circulation director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your circulation director 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 a circulation director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable circulation director resume templates

Build a professional circulation director 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 circulation director resume.