Fact checker to magazine editor
A fact checker already meets 24% of what the magazine editor role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
73/ 100
1 How much of what a magazine editor is expected to do is already part of a fact checker’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 magazine editor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A magazine editor role treats 4 of its required skills as things a fact checker already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- consult information sources
- develop professional network
- press law
- writing techniques
What stands in the way is 10 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 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A magazine editor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a fact checker background worth leading with.
- already held press law business, administration and law
- already held writing techniques arts and humanities
- already held interview techniques social sciences, journalism and information
- already held use word processing software working with computers
- already held proofread text communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held consult information sources information skills
All 8 carried skills, including the 4 the magazine editor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 29 missing skills fall into 9 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 adapt to type of media required
- still to learn create editorial board required
- still to learn ensure consistency of published articles required
- still to learn participate in editorial meetings required
- optional, not held use specific writing techniques optional
- optional, not held write captions optional
- optional, not held write headlines optional
- optional, not held adapt to changing situations optional
- optional, not held apply grammar and spelling rules optional
- still to learn apply organisational techniques required
- still to learn manage staff required
- still to learn meet deadlines required
- optional, not held write to a deadline optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- still to learn follow ethical code of conduct of journalists required
- still to learn copyright legislation required
- still to learn editorial standards required
- optional, not held edit negatives optional
- optional, not held edit photographs optional
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
- optional, not held perform image editing optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a magazine editor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 adapt to type of media practise this
- 02 create editorial board practise this
- 03 ensure consistency of published articles 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 8 skills that carry over
- already held consult information sources skill
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held press law knowledge
- already held writing techniques knowledge
- already held interview people skill
- already held interview techniques knowledge
- already held proofread text skill
- already held use word processing software skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held grammar optional
- optional, not held graphic design optional
- optional, not held spelling optional
- optional, not held check correctness of information optional
- optional, not held check stories optional
- optional, not held follow the news optional
- optional, not held desktop publishing optional
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held check correctness of information optional
- optional, not held check stories optional
- optional, not held edit negatives optional
- optional, not held edit photographs optional
- optional, not held follow the news optional
- optional, not held use specific writing techniques optional
- optional, not held write captions optional
- optional, not held write headlines optional
- optional, not held write to a deadline optional
- optional, not held adapt to changing situations optional
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
- optional, not held apply grammar and spelling rules optional
- optional, not held desktop publishing optional
- optional, not held grammar optional
- optional, not held graphic design optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held perform image editing optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- optional, not held spelling optional
10 held skills the magazine editor role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role communicate by telephone skill
- not needed by the target role consult with editor skill
- not needed by the target role media and information literacy knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform background research on writing subject skill
- not needed by the target role read manuscripts skill
- not needed by the target role review unpublished articles skill
- not needed by the target role rewrite manuscripts skill
- not needed by the target role scientific research methodology knowledge
- not needed by the target role search databases skill
- not needed by the target role search engines knowledge
6 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 copyright legislation required
- still to learn editorial standards required
- optional, not held desktop publishing optional
- optional, not held grammar optional
- optional, not held graphic design optional
- optional, not held spelling optional
Common questions about this move
Can a fact checker become a magazine editor?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A fact checker already covers 24% of what a magazine editor is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 4 of which the magazine editor role treats as required.
What skills does a fact checker need to become a magazine editor?
10 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is adapt to type of media.
How hard is the move from fact checker to magazine editor?
Its learning distance is 73 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.