To work as an editor, you typically need to:

• have a high school diploma or equivalent;
• have a bachelor's degree; and
• have one to five years of related work experience.

Education after high school

You must have at least a bachelor's degree to be an editor. Common majors for editors are journalism, English, and communications. If you wish to specialize in areas such as business, fashion, or legal issues, you need additional training in those areas.

Editorial work for technical publications usually requires a degree related to the publication's specialty area. For example, you need a degree in engineering, business, or science to edit in those areas.

Book and magazine editors usually have a master's or doctoral (PhD) degree. Knowledge of desktop publishing software is helpful. Online publications require knowledge of computers and web page design

Work experience

You can prepare for this field by working on a school newspaper or yearbook. Any writing experience is valuable, paid or not. Many students work as interns while they are in high school or college to get experience. You should keep examples of your work in a portfolio.

On-the-job training

New editors start by checking facts in stories or by editing routine copy. As you gain experience and skills, you take on additional duties. Many editors receive about one month of on-the-job training.

Military training

Some branches of the military train people to be public information officers. Editing is part of this occupation. You generally need a bachelor's degree before you can enter this military occupation. Training lasts eight weeks. Additional training is on the job.