Learning how to become an editor doesn’t happen overnight. Editing isn’t a college major. Some English degree programs offer a specialization in editing and publishing, most do not. There are a handful of certificate programs in professional and graduate degree programs, but the art of editing goes far beyond knowing grammar and the basics of copyediting. A full-time job as an editor isn’t an entry-level position and many recent graduates who might one day become editors have a difficult time navigating a route to this career goal. Many publishers won’t hire someone full-time who hasn’t already had an internship or two. And while they offer internships, typically they are unpaid and sometimes require a student register for college course credit. Instead of getting paid to work, they pay several thousands of dollars in tuition to gain valuable work experience. As a former college professor who supervised some of these internships, I would be disheartened to learn students had been given low-level tasks to perform which did not increase their skill sets or worse, had them perform tasks which the company ought to have hired an employee to do. Too often, interns provided an unpaid labor pool instead of an apprenticeship. Cultivating the next generation of editors requires mentors who can offer educational opportunities within a workplace setting. Instead of treating an intern as unpaid labor, cultivating their strengths and working on building new skill sets takes time and effort that goes beyond the regular work demands of running a business.…

College students these days are incredibly well versed in the post-grad talk. I can’t count on my hands how many times I’ve received the “good luck with that” look after I tell people I’m an English literature major with a studio art minor. And, I must admit, for good reason. It’s hardly a secret that it’s a tough time to find employment. There are expectations of students entering the job market that simply weren’t there in the past. Along with a degree, internship experience has essentially become a necessary precursor to full-time employment. In an ideal situation, an internship not only improves one’s position entering the workforce, but also teaches valuable skills in the field and gives a student the opportunity to work with knowledgeable and supportive superiors. But as has been proven by their recent presence in the media, internships don’t always provide what they should. Former interns are suing companies for, essentially, working them as full-time employees without a paycheck; these include lawsuits against Fox Searchlight and Gawker. Other students are qualified but can’t afford to take on full-time unpaid internships to begin with, especially if they can’t rely on the “Bank of Mom” necessary to cover the additional expenses of living in a city. In my two internship experiences, both with Fresh Dirt Ithaca magazine last summer and Swenson Book Development this summer, I have found supportive environments where I have felt intellectually stimulated and valued as a member of a team, not just a gopher. I…