Editorial Assistants
Overview
Introduction
Editorial assistants perform a wide range of functions, but their primary responsibility is to assist editors with ensuring that text provided by writers is accurate and suitable in content, format, and style for the intended audiences. Editorial assistants work for magazines, newspapers, book publishers, newsletters, corporations of all kinds, advertising agencies, radio stations, television stations, and Web sites.
Quick Facts
Median Salary
Employment Prospects
Minimum Education Level
Experience
Skills
Personality Traits
Earnings
Competition for editorial jobs is fierce, and there is no shortage of people who wish to enter the field. For that reason, companies that employ editorial assistants generally pay relatively low wages.
Editorial assistants earn salaries that range from $25,000 at smaller companies to $35,000 at large publishing houses. However, beginning salaries of $20,000 or less are still common in ma...
Work Environment
The environments in which editorial assistants work can vary widely. For the most part, publishers of all kinds realize that a quiet atmosphere is conducive to work that requires tremendous concentration. Most editorial assistants work in cubicles. Editorial assistants in publishing often work in quieter surroundings than do assistants working for a newspaper or in advertising agencies, who som...
Outlook
The publishing industry was hit hard by the last economic recession, resulting in several years of unfavorable job growth for editorial careers. Most recently, the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted most businesses in the U.S. and around the world. Newspapers, magazines, book publishers, and other media companies have had their employees working remotely or onsite on staggered schedules to redu...
