Sub-editor

Typical Salary

£22,000 To £45,000

Typical Hours

37 to 39 variable

evenings / weekends flexibly

How To Become a Sub-editor

You can get into this job through:

a university course
an apprenticeship
working towards this role
specialist courses offered by professional bodies

College / University

You’ll usually need a degree in a relevant subject like:

English
journalism
media studies

5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English

2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

a degree in any subject for a post

Apprenticeship

You can work towards this role by starting with an advanced apprenticeship as a publishing assistant.

Routes into this Career

You can work your way into this job by starting as a reporter or editorial assistant with a regional newspaper or magazine. This can help you to build up your experience of proofreading and text editing.

It will also allow you to develop a portfolio of work that you can use to showcase your skills to potential employers.

Other Routes

You'll find it helpful to take a sub-editing course if you've already got some experience in journalism, PR or media communications.

Courses are offered by organisations like the National Council for the Training of Journalists, the Society for Editors and Proofreaders and The Publishing Training Centre.

Skills And Knowledge

You'll need:

knowledge of English language
knowledge of media production and communication
the ability to read English
excellent verbal communication skills
to be thorough and pay attention to detail
excellent written communication skills
the ability to work well with others
to be flexible and open to change
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Day To Day Tasks

You will:

make sure articles are accurate, read well and do not break libel or copyright laws
edit articles to make them clearer or shorter
make sure articles follow house style
write headlines, captions and short paragraphs which lead into articles, and ‘panels’ which break up the text
make sure articles are in the right place on each page
use page layout and image editing software
send completed pages to the printers
work closely with reporters, editors, designers, production staff and printers

Working Environment

You could work in an office.

Career Path & Progression

With experience, you may be able to progress to production editor or chief sub-editor.

You could also use your journalism experience to move into PR or work as a press or communications officer.

Volunteering Opportunities

You'll need to get some experience before applying for your first job in publishing. To build up your experience you can:

volunteer for student and community newspapers
keep an online blog
have an online presence on sites such as Twitter
submit articles and reviews to local papers or websites

This is also a good way to develop contacts, as many jobs are not advertised.

Tips & Information

Career tips

You'll also need to be able to use desktop publishing software for many sub-editing jobs.

Professional and industry bodies

You may find it useful to join organisations like the Society of Editors and Professional Publishers Association, for professional recognition, training opportunities and to make industry contacts.

Further information

You can find out more about becoming a sub-editor from:

You can find out more about media and publishing careers from:

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Restrictions & Requirements

Restrictions & Requirements are not listed for this job.