Editor job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

16

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 4 of 5

considerable preparation

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$77,920

BLS May 2025

1. Verify facts, dates, and statistics, using standard reference sources. importance 4.7 of 5
2. Write text, such as headlines, stories, articles, editorials, or newsletters. importance 4.6 of 5
3. Read copy or proof to detect and correct errors in spelling, punctuation, and syntax. importance 4.6 of 5
4. Prepare, rewrite and edit copy to improve readability, or supervise others who do this work. importance 4.6 of 5
5. Develop story or content ideas, considering reader or audience appeal. importance 4.6 of 5
6. Allocate print space for story text, photos, and illustrations according to space parameters and copy significance, using knowledge of layout principles. importance 4.4 of 5
7. Confer with management and editorial staff members regarding placement and emphasis of developing news stories. importance 4.3 of 5
8. Oversee publication production, including artwork, layout, computer typesetting, and printing, ensuring adherence to deadlines and budget requirements. importance 4.3 of 5
9. Supervise and coordinate work of reporters and other editors. importance 4.2 of 5
10. Assign topics, events and stories to individual writers or reporters for coverage. importance 4.2 of 5
11. Monitor news-gathering operations to ensure utilization of all news sources, such as press releases, telephone contacts, radio, television, wire services, and other reporters. importance 4.1 of 5
12. Review and approve proofs submitted by composing room prior to publication production. importance 4.1 of 5
13. Respond to questions from the public. importance 4.1 of 5
14. Plan the contents of publications according to the publication's style, editorial policy, and publishing requirements. importance 4.1 of 5
15. Read, evaluate and edit manuscripts or other materials submitted for publication, and confer with authors regarding changes in content, style or organization, or publication. importance 4.0 of 5
16. Select local, state, national, and international news items received from wire services, based on assessment of items' significance and interest value. importance 3.9 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Getting Information, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work and Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Read material to determine index items and arrange them alphabetically or topically, indicating page or chapter location.
• Make manuscript acceptance or revision recommendations to the publisher.
• Arrange for copyright permissions.

Knowledge areas: English Language, Communications and Media, Customer and Personal Service, Design and Administration and Management.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Adobe Photoshop, Hypertext markup language HTML, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists less than 5 years of work experience in a related occupation as typical.
• Training on the job: BLS lists no typical on-the-job training once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 4 of 5 (considerable preparation). A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become an editor.

Most editors surveyed by O*NET (69%) name a bachelor's degree as the education the job requires.

Job title: Editor
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring an Editor to plan, coordinate, revise, or edit written material.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will 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.
- Allocate print space for story text, photos, and illustrations according to space parameters and copy significance, using knowledge of layout principles.
- Confer with management and editorial staff members regarding placement and emphasis of developing news stories.
- Oversee publication production, including artwork, layout, computer typesetting, and printing, ensuring adherence to deadlines and budget requirements.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a bachelor's degree as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists less than 5 years in a related occupation as typical; adjust to this role]
- Strength in reading comprehension, writing and active listening
- Working knowledge of English Language and Communications and Media
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Adobe Photoshop or Hypertext markup language HTML]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $77,920 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $37.46. BLS estimates about 91,690 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of editors to decline 1.1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,900 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full editor salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real editor posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Verify facts, dates, and statistics, using standard reference sources”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only editor work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (reading comprehension and writing); editor interview questions turns them into practice questions.