Opinion Editor Overview
Working as an Opinion Editor
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an opinion editor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.43 an hour? That's $44,577 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -3% and produce -3,400 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does an Opinion Editor Do
There are certain skills that many opinion editors 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 good judgment, creativity and interpersonal skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an opinion editor, we found that a lot of resumes listed 16.9% of opinion editors included student newspaper, while 11.1% of resumes included layout, and 9.0% of resumes included opinion pieces. 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 opinion editor job title. But what industry to start with? Most opinion editors actually find jobs in the media and education industries.
How To Become an Opinion Editor
If you're interested in becoming an opinion editor, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 85.1% of opinion editors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 5.6% of opinion editors have master's degrees. Even though most opinion editors have a college degree, it's impossible 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 an opinion editor. When we researched the most common majors for an opinion editor, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on opinion editor resumes include associate degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an opinion editor. In fact, many opinion editor jobs require experience in a role such as internship. Meanwhile, many opinion editors also have previous career experience in roles such as staff writer or reporter.
What is the right job for my career path?
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Opinion Editor Jobs
Opinion Editor 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 and public relations.
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 an Opinion Editor
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
WP Company LLC Opinions Editor-Producer Opinions Editor-Producer | WP Company LLC WP Company LLC | 04/09/2010 04/09/2010 | $50,00004/09/2010 $50,000 |
Washington Post Newsweek Interactive Opinions Editor-Producer Opinions Editor-Producer | Washington Post Newsweek Interactive Washington Post Newsweek Interactive | 09/29/2009 09/29/2009 | $50,00009/29/2009 $50,000 |
Washington Post Newsweek Interactive Opinions Editor-Producer Opinions Editor-Producer | Washington Post Newsweek Interactive Washington Post Newsweek Interactive | 09/29/2009 09/29/2009 | $50,00009/29/2009 $50,000 |
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Top Colleges for Opinion Editors
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
3. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
4. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO
5. New York University
New York, NY
6. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
7. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY
8. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
9. Stanford University
Stanford, CA
10. University of Washington
Seattle, WA
Entry Level Jobs For Becoming An Opinion Editor
Top Skills For an Opinion Editor
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, 16.9% of opinion editors listed student newspaper on their resume, but soft skills such as good judgment and creativity are important as well.
- Opinion Pieces, 17.4%
- Indesign, 13.9%
- Layout, 12.5%
- Freelance Writers, 5.1%
- News Stories, 4.9%
- Other Skills, 46.2% See All Opinion Editor Skills