Copy editor to fact checker
A copy editor already meets 39% of what the fact checker role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
52.5/ 100
1 How much of what a fact checker is expected to do is already part of a copy editor’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the fact checker role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A fact checker role treats 4 of its required skills as things a copy editor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- consult information sources
- proofread text
- read manuscripts
- review unpublished articles
What stands in the way is 6 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A fact checker role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a copy editor background worth leading with.
- already held review unpublished articles information skills
- already held rewrite manuscripts communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held read manuscripts information skills
- already held consult with editor communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held writing techniques arts and humanities
- already held proofread text communication, collaboration and creativity
All 7 carried skills, including the 4 the fact checker role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 11 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn communicate by telephone required
- still to learn develop professional network required
- optional, not held interview people optional
- still to learn search engines required
- optional, not held media and information literacy optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- still to learn search databases required
- optional, not held use word processing software optional
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- still to learn perform background research on writing subject required
- optional, not held press law optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a fact checker role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 perform background research on writing subject practise this
- 02 search engines study this
- 03 communicate by telephone practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 7 skills that carry over
- already held consult information sources skill
- already held proofread text skill
- already held read manuscripts skill
- already held review unpublished articles skill
- already held consult with editor skill
- already held rewrite manuscripts skill
- already held writing techniques knowledge
5 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held interview people optional
- optional, not held media and information literacy optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held press law optional
- optional, not held use word processing software optional
21 held skills the fact checker role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt to artists' creative demands skill
- not needed by the target role apply desktop publishing techniques skill
- not needed by the target role apply grammar and spelling rules skill
- not needed by the target role copyright legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role desktop publishing knowledge
- not needed by the target role digital journalism knowledge
- not needed by the target role editorial standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow a brief skill
- not needed by the target role follow ethical code of conduct of journalists skill
- not needed by the target role follow newspaper house style skill
- not needed by the target role follow work schedule skill
- not needed by the target role grammar knowledge
- not needed by the target role literature knowledge
- not needed by the target role office software knowledge
- not needed by the target role rewrite articles skill
- not needed by the target role spelling knowledge
- not needed by the target role suggest revision of manuscripts skill
- not needed by the target role track changes in text editing skill
- not needed by the target role typography knowledge
- not needed by the target role use dictionaries skill
- not needed by the target role write headlines skill
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn search engines required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held media and information literacy optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held press law optional
Common questions about this move
Can a copy editor become a fact checker?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A copy editor already covers 39% of what a fact checker is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 4 of which the fact checker role treats as required.
What skills does a copy editor need to become a fact checker?
6 required skills are missing, plus 5 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is perform background research on writing subject.
How hard is the move from copy editor to fact checker?
Its learning distance is 52.5 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.