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

What is a photojournalist/editor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Professor Margaret Oakes

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a photojournalist/editor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.19 an hour? That's $52,402 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -10% and produce -5,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a photojournalist/editor?

Professor Margaret Oakes

Professor of English, Furman University

Understand that you should be looking at a salary mid-career, not right now. And look at the possibility for promotion in your place of work - a small family business will not be able to or be interested in promoting you to a leadership position, so think about if you will need to move up or out.

ScorePhotojournalist/EditorUS Average

Salary

4.1

Avg. Salary $52,402

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate -10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.30%

Asian 8.97%

Black or African American 6.55%

Hispanic or Latino 13.06%

Unknown 4.42%

White 66.70%

Gender

female 17.51%

male 82.49%

Age - 38

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 - 38

Stress level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.1

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.1

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a photojournalist/editor

Explore photojournalist/editor education requirements

Most common photojournalist/editor degrees

Bachelor's

74.0 %

Associate

16.7 %

Master's

4.8 %

Start to develop specific photojournalist/editor skills

Skills	Percentages
Edit Video	21.09%
Photojournalist	13.21%
Photography	12.48%
Live Shots	5.74%
ABC	3.68%

Complete relevant photojournalist/editor training and internships

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

Research photojournalist/editor duties and responsibilities

Manage international man-made fiber market research/publishing company and supervise editorial content and sales of industry statistical journal.
Create Facebook page for newspaper.
Involve in the testing & prototype phase of Sony's first non-linear editing system.
Set up and operate ENG microwave trucks and equipment on- location in all weather conditions.

Prepare your photojournalist/editor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your photojournalist/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 photojournalist/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 photojournalist/editor resume templates

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