High School

Editorial assistants must be expert communicators, so you should excel in English. You must learn to write extremely well, since you will be correcting and even rewriting the work of others. If elective classes in writing are available in your school, take them. Take journalism and speech courses. Work as a writer or editor for the school paper. Since virtually all editorial and research assistants use computers, take computer courses and learn how to type quickly and accurately and use the Internet and conduct online research.

Postsecondary Training

Most employers require an editorial assistant to have at least two years of college education, and a bachelor's degree is preferred, especially if you wish to advance to a higher position. Most editorial workers have degrees in English or journalism, but it is not unheard of to major in one of the other liberal arts. If you know that you want to specialize in a specific field—for example, scientific editing—you may wish to major in an area of science while earning a minor in English, writing, or journalism. Many colleges offer courses in book editing, magazine design, general editing, and writing. Some colleges, such as the University of Chicago, University of Denver, and Stanford University, offer programs in publishing.

While in college, work on the school paper, literary magazine, or yearbook staff. Many magazines and newspapers offer internships to students interested in editorial work. Find a part-time job with a newspaper or magazine, even if it is a non-editorial position. Take advantage of these opportunities. Everything you can learn about the publishing business will help you find a job later.

Certification

Several colleges and universities offer programs in which students can earn certificates after taking a certain number of classes about topics such as publishing basics, proofreading, copyediting, and copyright. Schools that offer these programs include the City College of New York, Columbia University, New York University, Pace University, University of Chicago, and the University of Denver. A full list of colleges and universities that offer these programs can be found at http://bookjobs.com/publishing-programs.

Other Education or Training

The American Copy Editors Society offers sessions on grammar, headline writing, content management, layout and design, word choice and style, and other topics at its annual conference. The News Leaders Association provides webinars on leadership and management skills. The Association of American Publishers offers seminars on electronic publishing and other topics. The Editorial Freelancers Association provides workshops, seminars, online courses, and other continuing education opportunities on topics such as proofreading, editing basics, and working as a freelancer. Other organizations that offer continuing education opportunities include the News Media Alliance and MPA–The Association of Magazine Media. Contact these organizations for more information.

Certification or Licensing

There are no certification or licensing requirements for editorial or research assistants.

Any experience writing and editing will be useful for aspiring editorial assistants.

Good editorial assistants are fanatics for the written word. They read a lot, across many topics, and know how to think clearly and communicate what they are thinking. When they are curious about something, they take action and research the subject. They are not satisfied with not knowing things.

You must be detail-oriented to succeed as an editorial assistant. You must also be patient, since you may have to spend hours painstakingly tracking down hard-to-find facts and figures. You must be good not only at identifying problems but also at solving them, so you must be creative. The ability to work well with others is also important, as editorial assistants work closely with editors and other publishing professionals.