Marketing & media · Creating & Designing
Fixing, tightening and shaping other people's writing so it is accurate, clear and ready to publish.
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Editor salary in Ontario: the median pay is $34.62 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024). Its three-year outlook in Ontario is limited. The job usually needs a university degree.
Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 51110. Pay varies by region and experience.
The work
A Tuesday
Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.
Honestly
The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.
The route in
A degree in English, French, journalism or something close
No licence, and a certification offered by Editors Canada
Start by proofreading and editing for real people
Specialise
Where this comes from: Job Bank — Requirements for editors in Ontario · Job Bank — Ontario wage report for editors · Editors Canada — Professional certification
The money
Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.
Ontario, NOC 51110. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.
Where it is heading
Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.
Limited2 out of 5 stars
What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.
What is changing in this work
Who hires for it
Source: Job Bank — Editors job prospects in Ontario (NOC 51110). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.
Before you leave school
Test it
Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.
Edit one page of someone's writing and explain every change
About 60 minutesWhat it tells you. If you enjoyed the hunt for mistakes and the satisfaction of a clearer sentence, editing may suit you, and a proofreading or editing club is a good next step. If cutting someone else's words felt uncomfortable or dull, and you wanted to write your own instead, that points toward writing or creating jobs rather than editing.
Better than any article
Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.
Could you own one of these?
Yes, and it is common. Job Bank says a notable share of editors are freelance workers. You can edit for authors, businesses or publishers without any licence. The catch is that your income depends on finding steady clients, and Job Bank's note about short-term and project-based work is a fair description of what that is like.
Quick answers
The median pay for an editor in Ontario is $34.62 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $20.00 to $48.72 an hour. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.
Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as limited for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment decline will lead to the loss of some positions. Several positions will become available due to retirements. There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.
Job Bank says this work usually needs a university degree. The usual route in Ontario, in order: A degree in English, French, journalism or something close; No licence, and a certification offered by Editors Canada; Start by proofreading and editing for real people.
Newspaper, periodical, book and directory publishers. Document preparation services. A notable share are freelance workers. (Job Bank.)
Job Bank counts about 6,600 people working in this job in Ontario. 64% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.
Where people come from
In the 2021 Census, this job is one of the 12 most common for graduates of these programs. Each page shows what else they do, and which of those jobs have openings.
Not sure this is the right list to be reading
Start from yourself, not from the job.
Future Finder is free, takes about ten minutes, needs no account and stores nothing. It will tell you which kinds of work you lean toward, and which of these pages are worth your time.
Parent of a teenager weighing this up? Career coaching for teens gets them talking to people who do the work, anywhere in Ontario.
If this appeals, look at these too
journalist web designer marketing specialist translator graphic designer business owner
Read next
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Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
