How To Become A Deputy Editor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a deputy editor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Bradley Shreve

A deputy editor provides support to the chief editor throughout the editing processes that lead to the release of a publication. They prepare magazines, books, newspapers, films, or websites for publication. The edits include proofreading, formatting manuscripts, making changes to grammar, and sometimes writing content. They also undertake some administrative duties such as managing editorial staff, report writing, and preparing presentations for management.

Deputy editors work closely with other professionals such as designers, writers, marketing personnel, and vendors. They mostly work for newspapers, broadcasting stations, publishing companies, and magazines. To succeed in their role, deputy editors should have writing skills, creativity, organizational skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills, attention to detail, and should be well-versed with current trends.

Deputy editors often work in an office setting. They work 40 hours a week Monday to Friday from 9 to 5. They may also travel to hold meetings with external stakeholders.

What general advice would you give to a Deputy Editor?

Bradley Shreve

Editor, Tribal College Journal

Be flexible. An undergraduate degree in history offers a solid liberal arts background, but not a skill set that is finely tuned for most jobs. Think outside the box, and understand that the job you land probably won't be in the history profession.

ScoreDeputy EditorUS Average

Salary

7.5

Avg. Salary $96,894

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.7

Growth Rate -5%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.27%

Asian 7.31%

Black or African American 3.61%

Hispanic or Latino 8.19%

Unknown 4.60%

White 76.03%

Gender

female 45.71%

male 54.29%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress Level

6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.0

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.3

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a deputy editor

Explore deputy editor education requirements

Most common deputy editor degrees

Bachelor's

78.5 %

Master's

14.5 %

Diploma

2.3 %

Start to develop specific deputy editor skills

Skills	Percentages
SEO	11.63%
Editorial Calendar	9.03%
Editor-In-Chief	8.96%
Facebook	6.43%
News Stories	6.25%

Complete relevant deputy editor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New deputy editors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a deputy editor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real deputy editor resumes.

Research deputy editor duties and responsibilities

Manage SEO efforts through oversight of headline creation/editing and copy editing.
Lead round-the-clock daily editorial operations for outlet with industry-leading track record for accuracy and speed.
Oversee layout, content, copy editing, production, photography, editorial calendar, budget and advertising in the magazines.
Upload daily stories to Wordpress.

Prepare your deputy editor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your deputy editor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a deputy editor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Deputy Editor Resume templates

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Apply for deputy editor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a deputy editor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams