How To Become An Editor/Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is an editor/director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Bradley Shreve

As an editor/director, you are responsible for ensuring the quality of a company's written material and its accuracy. You are to create and plan written materials. Your job lets you educate writers on the best approach, edit copies, advise writers on content pieces, and identify ways to improve the flow of materials. You are also to create a calendar, develop ideas for content, oversee content production, assign projects and monitor deadlines, create highly shareable content, and adhere to journalism best practices. You are in charge of developing the overall direction of the publication and its content. Overseeing editorial content for advertisement or publication is also part of your responsibility as an editor/director.

Excellent listening skills, communication skills, seeking information and asking questions, and attention to detail are essential skills for this role. The average salary of an editor/director annually is $91,000. A bachelor's degree in Journalism or other related discipline is often required for the position.

What general advice would you give to an Editor/Director?

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.

ScoreEditor/DirectorUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $53,599

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 7.24%

Black or African American 3.58%

Hispanic or Latino 8.11%

Unknown 4.58%

White 76.22%

Gender

female 24.56%

male 75.44%

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

Key steps to become an editor/director

Explore editor/director education requirements

Most common editor/director degrees

Bachelor's

74.3 %

Associate

13.0 %

Master's

7.7 %

Start to develop specific editor/director skills

Skills	Percentages
Music Videos	27.95%
Video Production	7.68%
Adobe Premiere Pro	4.66%
Web Series	4.49%
Photography	4.32%

Complete relevant editor/director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New editor/directors 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 an editor/director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real editor/director resumes.

Research editor/director duties and responsibilities

Communicate with transportation managers, administrators, equipment operators and others for fulfillment of copy to achieve editorial goals.
Maintain and update social media including Youtube and Facebook accounts.
Perform principle of photography for interview, commercials, and TV shows.
Conceive, authore and edit retirement DVD and web content for the center's long time director.

Get editor/director experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become an editor/director. The most common roles before becoming an editor/director include editor, production assistant team lead and director.

Prepare your editor/director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your editor/director 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 an editor/director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Editor/Director Resume templates

Build a professional Editor/Director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Editor/Director resume.

Apply for editor/director jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an editor/director 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

How do editor/directors rate their job?