Career Advice on How to Become A Proofreader or Copy Marker

General Career Information

Much of the world’s media would be in a pretty sad state without proofreaders or copy markers.  Proofreaders look over and evaluate manuscripts and other documents looking for errors of all kinds and types.  Often a proofreader looks for errors relating to grammar and misspelled words. 

As a result, proofreaders need to have an excellent working knowledge of whatever language they are working in and need to be very concerned with correct use of grammar and sentence structure.  Proofreading is definitely a skill that takes time to learn and develop, as even a skilled writer who has not been trained to look for such errors may simply not find many of the subtler grammatical and spelling errors.

Career Facts:

The days of proofreaders only finding work at magazines, advertising agencies and publishing houses are definitely a thing of the past thanks to the Internet.  Today proofreaders are finding work on online magazines and blogs as well as proofreading work for large corporate websites.  After all, significant grammatical or spelling mistakes serve to make any corporation or entity look less professional.  Not surprisingly, proofreaders can also be found in the employment of the government and other large institutions such as colleges and universities.

Those interesting in becoming a proofreader or copy marker should have very strong English skills with an eye towards grammar.  Obviously proofreaders also need to have a great attention to detail and enjoy performing meticulous work.

Career Opportunities and Job Outlook- Below Average:

A Day in The Life:

A day in the life of a proofreader or copy marker will, of course, vary considerably depending upon where they are working.  One may see a proofreader or copy marker working almost anywhere where documents are created and disseminated to the public.  As a result, newspapers, book publishers, magazines and advertising agencies are all entities that have traditionally employed proofreaders and copy markers.  Today you will also find proofreaders and copy markers evaluating and proofing documents for the government and other large institutions such as corporations, colleges and universities.

In general, due to the nature of the work, proofreaders and copy markers work in office settings.  Much of their work is now done on computers, but pen and paper work does still occur as well.

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