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

What is an executive editor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Bradley Shreve

An executive editor is the person in charge of the editorial content of a newspaper, magazine, or other types of publication.

Their key functions vary depending on the kind and size of the publications that they oversee. For instance, they take the role of a newsroom leader in a newspaper setting. While in a corporate setup, they assume the position of a coordinator for book publishing.

As a leader of an editorial team, they make editorial decisions and partake in the hiring of staff members. They ensure that the content of the publication adheres to the organization's mission and principles. Aside from the extensive background in writing, editing, reporting, and pagination, they should also possess in-depth understanding of communication laws.

Pursuing this career requires a bachelor's degree in journalism or a discipline closely related to communication. Candidates must also have significant editorial experience.

What general advice would you give to an Executive 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.

ScoreExecutive EditorUS Average

Salary

7.9

Avg. Salary $110,541

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 7.26%

Black or African American 3.59%

Hispanic or Latino 8.13%

Unknown 4.59%

White 76.17%

Gender

female 49.94%

male 50.06%

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 executive editor

Explore executive editor education requirements

Most common executive editor degrees

Bachelor's

81.1 %

Master's

10.7 %

Associate

3.6 %

Start to develop specific executive editor skills

Skills	Percentages
Editorial Content	11.53%
Editorial Calendar	8.17%
Digital Content	6.12%
SEO	5.86%
Editor-In-Chief	5.66%

Complete relevant executive editor training and internships

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

Research executive editor duties and responsibilities

Lead effort to publish works of fiction (Alfaguara imprint).
Manage content using CMS tools and ongoing social media campaign and reader engagement via social media networks and blog.
Acquire established writers and introduce new voices in genre fiction.
Leverage meticulous attention to detail in technical editing and proofreading all content from project inception to completion.

Get executive editor experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become an executive editor. The most common roles before becoming an executive editor include editor, managing editor team lead and senior editor.

Prepare your executive editor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your executive 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 an executive 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 Executive Editor Resume templates

Build a professional Executive Editor 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 Executive Editor resume.

Apply for executive editor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an executive 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

How do executive editors rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Executive Editor reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Cons

It gets boring when you are doing it long enough.