Careers / Editors

Editors — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$77,920

United States, 2025

Employment

91,690

United States, 2025

Typical education

Not recorded

Job Zone 4

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

Plan, coordinate, revise, or edit written material. May review proposals and drafts for possible publication.

O*NET code
27-3041.00
Job zone
4
Experience required
Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year

Typical tasks

  • 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.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$41,250
10th
$57,300
25th
$77,920
Median
$106,100
75th
$153,700
90th

10th percentile

$41,250

25th percentile

$57,300

75th percentile

$106,100

90th percentile

$153,700

Most important skills

  • Reading Comprehension5.0
  • Writing4.4
  • Active Listening4.0
  • Speaking4.0
  • Critical Thinking3.9
  • Time Management3.4
  • Complex Problem Solving3.3
  • Active Learning3.3
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.3
  • Monitoring3.3
  • Management of Personnel Resources3.1
  • Social Perceptiveness3.1

What skills do you need?

Select the skills you already have

Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.

Skill coverage

0%

0 of 19 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

19

Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.

Skills to develop

SkillImportanceRequired levelYour levelGap
Reading Comprehension5.05.0Not selected5.0
Writing4.45.0Not selected5.0
Speaking4.04.1Not selected4.1
Active Listening4.04.0Not selected4.0
Critical Thinking3.94.0Not selected4.0
Time Management3.43.9Not selected3.9
Active Learning3.33.9Not selected3.9
Negotiation3.13.6Not selected3.6
Judgment and Decision Making3.33.4Not selected3.4
Monitoring3.33.4Not selected3.4
Complex Problem Solving3.33.3Not selected3.3
Management of Personnel Resources3.13.4Not selected3.4
Social Perceptiveness3.13.4Not selected3.4
Systems Analysis3.03.1Not selected3.1
Persuasion3.03.1Not selected3.1
Learning Strategies3.03.1Not selected3.1
Coordination3.03.1Not selected3.1
Instructing3.03.0Not selected3.0
Quality Control Analysis3.02.8Not selected2.8

Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.

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How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
San Jose, CA$117,5805602025
San Francisco, CA$102,9402,0402025
New York, NY$102,12016,6002025
NY$101,48016,8002025
Los Angeles, CA$100,0508,8302025
New Haven, CT$98,5501102025
CA$98,03014,8302025
Bridgeport, CT$88,6103402025
Waterbury, CT$87,1502302025
Trenton, NJ$86,8701502025
Boston, MA$86,4102,4802025
CT$85,9501,0502025
Washington, DC$84,8005,4702025
DC$83,9203,3102025
MA$83,1703,1002025
NJ$81,6802,1202025
Santa Rosa, CA$81,3301102025
Boulder, CO$81,0902202025
Salem, OR$80,6501002025
VA$80,5902,7202025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Editors to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

Build a transition comparison

Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0.

Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).

Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.