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

What is a publication editor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Bradley Shreve

The average publication editor salary is $58,830. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an journalism major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become a publication editor. Publication editors with a Certified Technical Professional (CTP) certification earn more money. 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 publication 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.

ScorePublication EditorUS Average

Salary

4.6

Avg. Salary $58,830

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 7.17%

Black or African American 3.55%

Hispanic or Latino 8.03%

Unknown 4.57%

White 76.41%

Gender

female 62.43%

male 37.57%

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 publication editor

Explore publication editor education requirements

Most common publication editor degrees

Bachelor's

80.6 %

Master's

11.4 %

Associate

4.5 %

Start to develop specific publication editor skills

Skills	Percentages
Web Content	11.38%
Press Releases	10.32%
Proofread	8.41%
Technical Publications	5.26%
Editorial Process	4.94%

Complete relevant publication editor training and internships

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

Research publication editor duties and responsibilities

Manage campaign performance through data analysis and reporting, with actionable takeaways per designate KPI.
Collaborate with internal editorials teams and division directors to develop news stories announcing new pharmaceutical advancements and laboratory developments.
Design, develop and publish multimedia web pages using Dreamweaver, HTML and CSS.
Proofread and edit the mission pastor's articles and blogs for his forthcoming second publication.

Get publication editor experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a publication editor. The most common roles before becoming a publication editor include editor, reporter team lead and internship.

Prepare your publication editor resume

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

Build a professional publication 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 publication editor resume.

Apply for publication editor jobs

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

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Publication 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.

Cons

Ultimately you're just trying to get money from people, and because of that very few people read your newsletter. So it's just not very rewarding.