How To Become A Magazine Editor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a magazine editor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Bradley Shreve

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a magazine editor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.12 an hour? That's $50,177 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 a magazine editor?

Bradley Shreve

Editor, Tribal College Journal

Be flexible. An undergraduate degree in history offers a solid liberal arts background, but not a skill set that is finely tuned for most jobs. Think outside the box, and understand that the job you land probably won't be in the history profession.

ScoreMagazine EditorUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $50,177

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 7.10%

Black or African American 3.52%

Hispanic or Latino 7.94%

Unknown 4.56%

White 76.62%

Gender

female 63.52%

male 36.48%

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 a magazine editor

Explore magazine editor education requirements

Most common magazine editor degrees

Bachelor's

73.5 %

Master's

11.9 %

Associate

9.2 %

Start to develop specific magazine editor skills

Skills	Percentages
Lifestyle	12.56%
Website Content	10.24%
Photography	7.60%
Magazines	7.32%
Editorial Calendar	5.93%

Complete relevant magazine editor training and internships

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

Research magazine editor duties and responsibilities

Develop online marketing strategies and manage web platforms such as Wordpress, Facebook, more.
Work closely with the publisher and advertising director to achieve editorial excellence and improve marketability.
Collaborate with editor-in-chief on production calendar and future magazine content ideas.
Improve SEO through Google Adwords.

Prepare your magazine editor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your magazine 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 a magazine 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 magazine editor resume templates

Build a professional magazine 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 magazine editor resume.

Apply for magazine editor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a magazine 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 magazine editors rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Magazine 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.