Newspaper or magazine editor | Explore careers (2024)

You'll usually start by doing a degree in English, journalism or media studies.

You can do a postgraduate qualification in publishing or journalism if your first degree is not related to the industry.

If you want to work for a specialist publication like a medical or scientific journal, you'll likely need a:

• degree or postgraduate qualification in a relevant subject
• high level of specialist knowledge

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English
• 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
• a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course

More Information

• equivalent entry requirements
• student finance for fees and living costs
• university courses and entry requirements

You'll need to get some experience before applying for your first job in publishing. To build up your experience you can:

• volunteer for student and community newspapers
• keep an online blog
• have an online presence on sites such as Twitter
• submit articles and reviews to local papers or websites

This is also a good way to develop contacts, as many jobs are not advertised.

You could take a proofreading or editing course, like the ones offered by theNational Council for the Training of Journalists, the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading and The Publishing Training Centre.

Professional and industry bodies

You may find it useful to join organisations like the Society of Editors and Professional Publishers Association for professional recognition, training opportunities and to make industry contacts.

Further information

You can find out more about becoming a newspaper and magazine editor from the National Council for the Training of Journalists.

You can learn more about other editorial and media careers from Discover Creative Careers.

You'll need:

• knowledge of English language
• knowledge of media production and communication
• the ability to read English
• excellent verbal communication skills
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• excellent written communication skills
• the ability to work well with others
• to be flexible and open to change
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Depending on the publication you work for as an editor, you could:

• commission articles
• choose which articles to publish
• decide on the layout for publishing
• assess work sent from freelance journalists, photographers and illustrators