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The differences between journalists and content editors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a journalist, becoming a content editor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a content editor has an average salary of $61,694, which is higher than the $60,828 average annual salary of a journalist.
The top three skills for a journalist include news stories, multimedia and story development. The most important skills for a content editor are digital content, web content, and digital marketing.
| Journalist | Content Editor | |
| Yearly salary | $60,828 | $61,694 |
| Hourly rate | $29.24 | $29.66 |
| Growth rate | -10% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 11,488 | 18,586 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
A journalist is responsible for creating written correspondence, covering various subjects as the management requires. This task involves a lot of research investigations, conducting interviews, and gathering reliable sources to verify the authenticity of data before releasing the articles on news portals and other social platforms. Journalists should have excellent communication skills, both written and oral, conveying information to the target audience with high accuracy and efficiency. They analyze opinions and testimonies, create eye-catching headlines, and ensure adherence to deadlines.
A content editor is an individual who is responsible for proof-reading articles written by content writers and write blog posts to promote the products and services of an organization. Content editors are responsible for producing monthly newsletters and optimize written pieces to increase user engagement. They need to interact with the consumers with the purpose of sourcing feedback on the content's impact actively. Content editors must also conduct business research on current trends to give the company an edge over the competition.
Journalists and content editors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Journalist | Content Editor | |
| Average salary | $60,828 | $61,694 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $95,000 | Between $41,000 And $91,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Bloomberg | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a journalist and a content editor in terms of educational background:
| Journalist | Content Editor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Journalism | English |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between journalists' and content editors' demographics:
| Journalist | Content Editor | |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 46.6% Female, 53.4% | Male, 43.5% Female, 56.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 9.6% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 7.1% White, 76.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 12% |