Career
Editors
Shape writing until it is ready to publish.
$77,920
Median pay
-1.1%
Job growth, 2025–35
7,900
Openings a year
Bachelor's degree
Typical education
4 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Verify facts, dates, and statistics, using standard reference sources.
- Write text, such as headlines, stories, articles, editorials, or newsletters.
- Read copy or proof to detect and correct errors in spelling, punctuation, and syntax.
- Prepare, rewrite and edit copy to improve readability, or supervise others who do this work.
- Develop story or content ideas, considering reader or audience appeal.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on creation & expression, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Verify facts, dates, and statistics, using standard reference sources.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Writing, Active Listening, Speaking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $77,920 a year and 7,900 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- CommunicationSee the degree →
- Public Relations and AdvertisingSee the degree →
- JournalismSee the degree →
- Writing and RhetoricSee the degree →
- Communication, GeneralCIP 09.0100
- Mass Communication/Media StudiesCIP 09.0102
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Proofreaders and Copy Markers$51,120 · -0.9%
- Film and Video Editors$75,420 · +3.7%
- News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists$62,200 · -5.9%
- Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers
- Writers and Authors$76,910 · -0.3%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
Not sure this fits who you are? Start with Vocational Finder →
Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.