How to become
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
- specialist training courses with professional bodies
University
You can study for a university qualification before looking for work. Subjects like English, journalism or media and communication studies may give you an advantage, though most subjects will be acceptable.
If you want to specialise in a particular field of publishing, you may need a degree that's closely related to it, for example physics or maths for a scientific journal.
An excellent grasp of English language will be essential for all jobs.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English
- 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
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Apprenticeship
You can apply to do a Publishing Professional Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship with a company to get into this role.
This typically takes around 2 years to complete and is a mix of workplace training and study.
Entry requirements
Employers will set their own entry requirements.
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Work
You could work in a publishing office or a company's communications department, as an admin assistant or copywriter, and work your way up through in-house training and promotion.
Volunteering
You'll find it useful when applying for jobs to have done some paid or unpaid work experience in publishing, for example on behalf of a charity.
Other Routes
You could take a proofreading or editing course, like the ones offered by The Publishing Training Centre or the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading.
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Career tips
Skills in image editing software could be useful for some jobs, though employers would give you training in the packages they use.
Professional and industry bodies
You may find it useful to join organisations like the the Publishers Association and Professional Publishers Association for professional recognition, training opportunities and to make industry contacts.
Further information
You can find out more about becoming an editorial assistant from the: