An editor-in-chief’s salary is a subject of great interest for those who are about to start a career path as an editor or who is in the middle of this track. This topic can be equally useful for you not only if you are an assistant editor-in-chief, a deputy editor in chief, or a co-editor in chief, but also if you are a beginner in this field.
Being at the top of the career ladder, an editor-in-chief’s salary reflects his or her professional achievements. It is worth mentioning, though, that a senior editor’s position entails a lot of responsibilities on his or her shoulders. The digital writing world is altering much faster in regard to print publications, and thus a successful online editor-in-chief should be an exceptionally accurate, smart, and flexible person. By the way, if you want to know more about an editor-in-chief’s duties, visit our related post.
According to PayScale, the average annual earnings of a chief-in-editor in the United States is $75,989. There is a positive trend towards an increase in this salary every five years.
For instance, PayScale states that relatively new editors-in-chief can expect approximately $52,000 annually, whereas an experienced and late-career editorial leaders receive between $84,000 and $94,000 accordingly. This information is dated from the 20th of September, 2017. Additional cash compensation is not included, as it depends on multiple internal factors.
Those chiefs in the e-publishing world who have managed to advance and show innovation are entitled to reap the benefits from years of hard work. Interestingly, though, that nowadays men still considerably out-earn their female peers with the same titles. In turn, such a phenomenon increases the dissatisfaction level among women, which sounds reasonable.
Based on Folio, senior editor positions for men have 19% more compensation than their women counterparts. Besides the gender inequality issue, the vast majority is merely happy to be employed, and thus does not lay down demands.
Apart from the gender pay gap, such aspects as age, editorship background, postgraduate degrees, and the number of supervising employees affect the wage level. The salary difference, if any, is little or non-existent in both print and digital platforms. It is being monitored, but only at the top positions. Senior editors evidently have to know the ins and outs of each media platform.
In contrast, the same position in the labor market in the countries of Eastern Europe significantly differs from senior editors in America or even Central Europe in terms of pay levels. Fulfilling the functions at equally professional levels of excellence, editors-in-chief in Eastern Europe earn only around $8,000 annually. Such a gap can be explained due to a comparably lower economic development, and thus an inferior standard of living for the local population.
As a result, the above-mentioned criteria are the parts of a senior editor’s salary. To sum up, those who have a long employment history in the publishing industry, a credible post-graduate degree, and more than several people in a subordinate position to supervise can expect a higher compensation level. Furthermore, an editor-in-chief’s wage varies in terms of geographical location, and to some extent, in the type of publishing. In the long run, there is an alternative that depends solely on you — either to conform to working conditions or to find a better place for your specific needs.