Editors
Plan, coordinate, revise, or edit written material. May review proposals and drafts for possible publication.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Time Management
- Active Learning
- Monitoring
Key knowledge
- English Language
- Communications and Media
- Customer and Personal Service
- Design
- Administration and Management
- Computers and Electronics
- Law and Government
- Personnel and Human Resources
What the work involves
- Prepare, rewrite and edit copy to improve readability, or supervise others who do this work.
- Read copy or proof to detect and correct errors in spelling, punctuation, and syntax.
- Allocate print space for story text, photos, and illustrations according to space parameters and copy significance, using knowledge of layout principles.
- Plan the contents of publications according to the publication's style, editorial policy, and publishing requirements.
- Verify facts, dates, and statistics, using standard reference sources.
- Review and approve proofs submitted by composing room prior to publication production.
- Develop story or content ideas, considering reader or audience appeal.
- Oversee publication production, including artwork, layout, computer typesetting, and printing, ensuring adherence to deadlines and budget requirements.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Artistic, Conventional, Enterprising.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (68.8% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (30.1%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (34.6%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Editors is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Lower on contact with others than 54% of occupations compared | 68% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Lower on dealing with the public than 54% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 78% of occupations compared | 68% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 93% of occupations compared | 74% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 82% of occupations compared | 57% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Higher on conflict situations than 55% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 56% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 85% of occupations compared | 45% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 11.63%
- Contact with others about half the time: 10.29%
- Contact with others most of the time: 10.29%
- Constant contact with others: 67.79%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 14.29%
- Fairly important: 30.86%
- Important: 0.67%
- Very important: 15.94%
- Extremely important: 38.24%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 10.29%
- Very important: 21.29%
- Extremely important: 68.42%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 0%
- Some freedom: 25.51%
- A lot of freedom: 74.49%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 10.29%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 5.11%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 27.72%
- Every day: 56.89%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 42.07%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 25.94%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 31.98%
- Every day: 0%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 47.28%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 22.4%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 24.66%
- Every day: 5.66%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 19.04%
- Fairly serious: 44.85%
- Serious: 33.83%
- Very serious: 0.67%
- Extremely serious: 1.6%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
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O*NET-SOC 27-3041.00 · SOC 27-3041 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8