Magazine job openings require a wide range of skills, abilities, and interests. The magazine industry can be an exciting and adventurous place to work, whether a person is skilled in writing, graphic design, or business affairs. Assistant positions, contributor jobs, design and layout work, and editing are some of the most common magazine job opportunities.
Many people interested in becoming future journalists or editors begin their careers as assistant editors in magazines. Editorial or graphic assistants usually do secretarial work and are occasionally assigned to run errands for their bosses. While these jobs can be a great way to learn about the magazine industry from the ground up and provide excellent opportunities for professional networking, they are often thankless and low-paying. Assistants typically use these positions as a stepping stone to more advanced magazine careers.
A magazine’s written content is provided by contributing writers. These writers could be part of the publication’s full-time staff or freelance experts hired to write on a specific topic. Contributors may hold a journalism degree, be published authors, or be well-known bloggers. Working as a magazine writer could entail writing a monthly or weekly column on a specific topic, or it could be based on specific magazine assignments. Photographers are occasionally hired as contributing professionals, and they may be tasked with supplying specific images or going on an assignment to capture the events of a story.
To keep the eye interested and create an all-over visual appeal, magazines require a keen artistic touch. Graphic designers assist in the creation of images for each piece, the sizing and selection of text, and the page-by-page layout of the magazine. Graphic design, production design, or photojournalism degrees are frequently required for magazine career opportunities in the visual arts. Because so much of magazine design is done with computer software, graphic artists must be extremely computer savvy.
The editorial department can be a great place to start a magazine career. Young writers or journalists, especially those with strong proofreading skills, are frequently hired as entry-level employees in this field. Copy editors are responsible for ensuring that the magazine’s final text is error-free and fact-checked. The editor-in-chief, also known as the creative director, is in charge of each magazine issue’s vision, style, and content. Only highly experienced professionals are eligible for this prestigious position, which can take many years to obtain.