You could do a degree in a subject like:

• English
• journalism
• media studies
• publishing

You can do a postgraduate qualification in publishing or journalism if your first degree is not related to the industry.

If you want to work for a specialist publication, such as a medical or scientific journal, you'll usually need:

• a degree or postgraduate qualification in a relevant subject
• an excellent understanding of the field

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
• a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course

You could start as an editorial assistant, copy editor or journalist with a regional newspaper or magazine and work your way up through training and promotion.

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

• volunteer to work on student and community newspapers
• keep an online blog
• maintain an online presence on social media channels
• submit articles and reviews to newspapers, magazines or websites

These are good ways to develop industry contacts, as many jobs are not advertised. They are also useful for creating a portfolio of work to show employers what you can do.

You could take an editing or proofreading course to develop your skills, which may help when looking for work.

Courses are offered by:

• the National Council for the Training of Journalists
• the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading
• The Publishing Training Centre

You'll need:

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

As a newspaper or magazine editor, you would:

• contribute to content planning meetings
• commission features, articles and podcasts
• check submitted work meets your company's editorial guidelines
• choose which content to publish and when
• decide on page layouts and formatting
• assess work sent from freelance journalists, photographers and illustrators
• check for legal issues like libel or breach of copyright

You could work in an office.