Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Picture editor to editor-in-chief

A picture editor already meets 63% of what the editor-in-chief role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From picture editor
63 % overlap
Strong match
To editor-in-chief
26 You already bring
6 Still to learn
45 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

42.8/ 100

1 How much of what an editor-in-chief is expected to do is already part of a picture 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 editor-in-chief role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An editor-in-chief role treats 14 of its required skills as things a picture editor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • adapt to type of media
  • build contacts to maintain news flow
  • check stories
  • consult information sources
  • copyright legislation
  • create editorial board

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

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 26 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An editor-in-chief role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a picture editor background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held create editorial board communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held check stories information skills
  • already held follow newspaper house style assisting and caring
  • already held build contacts to maintain news flow communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held follow ethical code of conduct of journalists assisting and caring
  • already held create online news content communication, collaboration and creativity

All 26 carried skills, including the 14 the editor-in-chief role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 19 missing skills fall into 5 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 4 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn ensure consistency of published articles required
  • still to learn work closely with news teams required
  • still to learn adapt to changing situations required
  • still to learn implement strategic planning required
  • optional, not held interview people optional
  • optional, not held use specific writing techniques optional
  • optional, not held apply grammar and spelling rules optional
  • optional, not held manage contracts optional
  • optional, not held proofread text optional
02 management skills 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn manage staff required
  • optional, not held write to a deadline optional
03 social sciences, journalism and information 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn digital journalism required
  • optional, not held interview techniques optional
04 arts and humanities 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held grammar optional
  • optional, not held spelling optional
  • optional, not held writing techniques optional
05 information skills 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held check correctness of information optional
  • optional, not held study relevant writing optional
  • optional, not held document interviews optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an editor-in-chief role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 26 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held adapt to type of media skill
  • already held build contacts to maintain news flow skill
  • already held check stories skill
  • already held consult information sources skill
  • already held copyright legislation knowledge
  • already held create editorial board skill
  • already held develop professional network skill
  • already held editorial standards knowledge
  • already held follow ethical code of conduct of journalists skill
  • already held follow the news skill
  • already held manage budgets skill
  • already held meet deadlines skill
  • already held participate in editorial meetings skill
  • already held press law knowledge
  • already held apply desktop publishing techniques skill
  • already held create online news content skill
  • already held desktop publishing knowledge
  • already held edit digital moving images skill
  • already held edit negatives skill
  • already held edit photographs skill
  • already held follow newspaper house style skill
  • already held graphic design knowledge
  • already held perform image editing skill
  • already held perform video editing skill
  • already held photography knowledge
  • already held recruit employees skill
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held check correctness of information optional
  • optional, not held interview people optional
  • optional, not held study relevant writing optional
  • optional, not held use specific writing techniques optional
  • optional, not held write to a deadline optional
  • optional, not held apply grammar and spelling rules optional
  • optional, not held document interviews optional
  • optional, not held grammar optional
  • optional, not held interview techniques optional
  • optional, not held manage contracts optional
  • optional, not held proofread text optional
  • optional, not held spelling optional
  • optional, not held writing techniques optional
22 held skills the editor-in-chief role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role ICT software specifications knowledge
  • not needed by the target role colour grade images with digital intermediate skill
  • not needed by the target role consult with editor skill
  • not needed by the target role create rough cut skill
  • not needed by the target role determine image composition skill
  • not needed by the target role digital content creation skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain photographic equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role motion graphics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role multimedia systems knowledge
  • not needed by the target role negotiate exploitation rights skill
  • not needed by the target role perform backups skill
  • not needed by the target role post-processing of photographs knowledge
  • not needed by the target role search for a suitable filming location skill
  • not needed by the target role select camera apertures skill
  • not needed by the target role select photographic equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role select photos skill
  • not needed by the target role set up photographic equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role supervise staff skill
  • not needed by the target role supervise work skill
  • not needed by the target role use photographic equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role use presentation software skill
  • not needed by the target role use word processing software 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn digital journalism required
  • optional, not held grammar optional
  • optional, not held interview techniques optional
  • optional, not held spelling optional
  • optional, not held writing techniques optional
Index

Other moves recorded from picture editor

Full index of moves from picture editor

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a picture editor become an editor-in-chief?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. A picture editor already covers 63% of what an editor-in-chief is expected to do: 26 skills carry over, 14 of which the editor-in-chief role treats as required.

What skills does a picture editor need to become an editor-in-chief?

6 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is digital journalism.

How hard is the move from picture editor to editor-in-chief?

Its learning distance is 42.8 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.