editorial assistant
Editorial assistants support the editorial staff at all stages of the publication process of newspapers, websites, online newsletters, books and journals. They collect, verify and process information, acquire permits and deal with rights. Editorial assistants act as point of contact for the editorial staff, schedule appointments and interviews. They proofread and give recommendations on the content.
editorial assistant editorial assistants support the editorial staff at all stages of the publication process of newspapers, websites, online newsletters, books and journals. They collect, verify and process information, acquire permits and deal with rights. 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, media law, editorial standards, linguistics, database management systems.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £34,954 a year for Personal assistants and other secretaries (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £28,565 to £43,903 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 4215). ONS rates this estimate precise. 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 “Technicians and associate professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only editorial assistant, 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 3. 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
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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 editorial assistant do?
Editorial assistants support the editorial staff at all stages of the publication process of newspapers, websites, online newsletters, books and journals. They collect, verify and process information, acquire permits and deal with rights. Editorial assistants act as point of contact for the editorial staff, schedule appointments and interviews. They proofread and give recommendations on the content.
What skills does editorial assistant need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include digital journalism, media law, editorial standards, linguistics, database management systems, desktop publishing. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace editorial assistant?
Our AI-durability model gives editorial assistant 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.