• About us
  • Contact us
  • Search

You are not logged in:

Careers

Between 2006 and 2009, 0.4% of working doctoral graduates, or 55 working doctoral graduates, were known to have been working as editors six months after graduation.

Doctoral graduates commonly go to work in the academic publishing industry, a small niche of the publishing sector as a whole, and there are numerous editorial opportunities at degree level that are also open to doctoral graduates.  However, there may be more competition from graduates from other qualification levels.

Job description

Doctoral level editors are classified under the ‘other occupation' doctoral employment cluster. An editor's work is varied. The role is mostly associated with ensuring that the contents of books and magazines are of a suitable standard and quality for publishing. Editors commission work by finding authors or responding to book proposals. In magazine publishing, editors commission writers to produce articles and features. They also ensure authors deliver typescripts to specification and on time. This occupation is a mid to senior level post requiring suitable experience and ability.

For doctoral graduates, editing roles are very commonly with academic journals and their publishers, but the whole range of editorial options within publishing and journalism are open to graduates with doctoral qualifications.

Typical work activities

Editors are involved with a project at every stage. They are the key link between the initial proposal for a book, article or product and the published work. Editors have to also research their field in order to learn about trends and gaps in the market. For this purpose, they:

  • Attend book fairs
  • Conduct internet research
  • Draw up surveys to identify demand
  • Attend relevant conferences

A journal editor can also:

  • Solicit and commission journal manuscripts
  • Receive and co-ordinate articles for publication
  • Recruit, select and manage reviewers

Typical work activities involve:

  • Identifying, developing and supporting projects and authors
  • Reading and evaluating book proposals and manuscripts offered by authors and agents
  • Maintaining a book publishing programme
  • Organising book launches and signings
  • Working with administration, finance, budgets and strategy
  • Contributing to marketing and sales activities
  • Researching market trends
  • Meeting with other editors and senior editors to discuss new proposals
  • Negotiating contract terms with authors and agents

Journal editors will also:

  • Edit publishable articles
  • Deal with rejected articles
  • Maintain a regular production schedule
  • Where appropriate, design and produce themed issues.

Entry requirements

This area of work is open to all graduates, although academic, professional and scientific publishers may prefer graduates with subject-specific expertise. Traditionally, a new entrant begins as an editorial assistant, working on copy-editing, proofreading and writing book cover texts (see The Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP)  for more information about these roles) as well as list administration. They then may progress to assistant editor or associate editor and eventually to editor. However, there are exceptions:

  • Some enter from a publishing, sales and marketing, or contracts and rights background
  • In academic publishing, academics with specialist subject knowledge may be recruited directly into an editorship
  • In magazine publishing, a magazine journalist can progress to editor.

Candidates need to show evidence of the following:

  • Attention to detail
  • Business acumen
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Proactivity, tenacity and self-motivation
  • Organisational skills
  • An aptitude for project management
  • Competence in IT.

Many jobs are not formally advertised. People are recruited to trainee positions through contacts (which can be developed by visiting book fairs, work shadowing and talking to people in publishing), from specialist training courses or because they have made direct contact at the right time.

Salary

An initial entrant is likely to be recruited into a more junior position, such as editorial assistant, which may then lead on to a career as editor.

  • Average salary for an editorial assistant: £18,442 (salary data collected June 09). This is often the entry-level position for aspiring commissioning editors.
  • Average salary for an editor: £26,450 (salary data collected June 09).
  • Average salary for the senior role of publisher: £42,188 (salary data collected June 09).
  • Salaries at senior level are competitive and may be negotiable.

Sector and disciplinary information

Sector information

Doctoral graduates from 2006-9 working in this occupation were known to be employed in the following profiled sectors six months after graduation:

Disciplinary background

The career is open to graduates from any discipline and at all levels, is particularly suited to those with an arts and humanities or writing background. However, for academic work and, particularly work on journals, a background in the subject of the journal is essential. Consequently, between 2006 and 2009, the majority (70%) of doctoral graduates taking up editor roles had a science background, with a quarter having doctorates in chemistry.

Career stories

Dr Rebecca Steinitz describes herself as a writer-editor-consultant, although 75% of her time is spent working for one organisation as a consultant in local public high schools.

"Network like mad, professionally and personally. I went to my yoga class and ended up editing a book for the yoga teacher! I'm sure that, within the next year, someone will call me because of the work I did on this book! That's how it goes."

Other relevant career profiles:

Useful links