Columnist Overview
Working as a Columnist
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a columnist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.74 an hour? That's $36,895 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -10% and produce -5,100 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Columnist Do
There are certain skills that many columnists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, computer skills and interpersonal skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a columnist, we found that a lot of resumes listed 29.3% of columnists included topics, while 19.1% of resumes included online publication, and 7.8% of resumes included student newspaper. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the columnist job title. But what industry to start with? Most columnists actually find jobs in the media and hospitality industries.
How To Become a Columnist
If you're interested in becoming a columnist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 70.6% of columnists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 15.6% of columnists have master's degrees. Even though most columnists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a columnist. When we researched the most common majors for a columnist, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on columnist resumes include doctoral degree degrees or associate degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a columnist. In fact, many columnist jobs require experience in a role such as internship. Meanwhile, many columnists also have previous career experience in roles such as reporter or editor.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
Columnist Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of editor you might progress to a role such as owner eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title director of marketing & development.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Columnist
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Daily World Press Inc. Advice Columnist Advice Columnist | Daily World Press Inc. Daily World Press Inc. | 03/14/2012 03/14/2012 | $47,62503/14/2012 $47,625 |
Daily World Press, Inc. Advice Columnist Advice Columnist | Daily World Press, Inc. Daily World Press, Inc. | 10/20/2011 10/20/2011 | $47,62510/20/2011 $47,625 |
China Daily Distribution Corporation Columnist Columnist | China Daily Distribution Corporation China Daily Distribution Corporation | 07/13/2011 07/13/2011 | $26,10407/13/2011 $26,104 |
Coast Star Inc. Columnist Columnist | Coast Star Inc. Coast Star Inc. | 04/27/2011 04/27/2011 | $25,29404/27/2011 $25,294 |
Coast Star Inc. Columnist Columnist | Coast Star Inc. Coast Star Inc. | 02/22/2011 02/22/2011 | $31,05502/22/2011 $31,055 |
Calculate your salary
Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
Columnist Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Columnist. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Columnist Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Columnist resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop Colleges for Columnists
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA • Private
2. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
4. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
5. University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA • Public
6. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Public
7. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA • Public
8. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
9. Emory University
Atlanta, GA • Private
10. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Public
Top Skills For a Columnist
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 29.3% of columnists listed topics on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and computer skills are important as well.
- Topics, 29.3%
- Online Publication, 19.1%
- Student Newspaper, 7.8%
- News Stories, 6.6%
- Current Events, 5.2%
- Other Skills, 32.0% See All Columnist Skills
How Do Columnist Rate Their Jobs?
Top Columnist Employers
Columnist Videos
