columnist
Columnists research and write opinion pieces about new events for newspapers, journals, magazines and other media. They have an area of interest and can be recognised by their writing style.
columnist columnists research and write opinion pieces about new events for newspapers, journals, magazines and other media. They have an area of interest and can be recognised by their writing style. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include digital journalism, editorial standards, writing techniques, rhetoric, spelling.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £44,534 a year for Newspaper and periodical journalists and reporters (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 2492). ONS rates this estimate acceptable: it rests on a small sample, so treat it as a rough guide. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only columnist, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 2. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- English Language
- Communications and Media
- Administration and Management
- Administrative
- Education and Training
- Customer and Personal Service
- Computers and Electronics
- Law and Government
What you'd actually do
- Read copy or proof to detect and correct errors in spelling, punctuation, and syntax.
- Verify facts, dates, and statistics, using standard reference sources.
- Read, evaluate and edit manuscripts or other materials submitted for publication, and confer with authors regarding changes in content, style or organization, or publication.
- Develop story or content ideas, considering reader or audience appeal.
- Prepare, rewrite and edit copy to improve readability, or supervise others who do this work.
- Oversee publication production, including artwork, layout, computer typesetting, and printing, ensuring adherence to deadlines and budget requirements.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does columnist do?
Columnists research and write opinion pieces about new events for newspapers, journals, magazines and other media. They have an area of interest and can be recognised by their writing style.
What skills does columnist need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include digital journalism, editorial standards, writing techniques, rhetoric, spelling, grammar. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace columnist?
Our AI-durability model gives columnist a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.