Proofreaders and Copy Markers

What Proofreaders and Copy Markers Do

Read transcript or proof type setup to detect and mark for correction any grammatical, typographical, or compositional errors. Excludes workers whose primary duty is editing copy. Includes proofreaders of braille.

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience

None

On-the-job training

None

Self-employed

31.2%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

• English Languageimportance 5.0/5
• Communications and Mediaimportance 3.4/5
• Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.0/5
• Administrativeimportance 2.6/5
• Administration and Managementimportance 2.4/5
• Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 2.2/5
• Designimportance 2.2/5
• Mathematicsimportance 2.0/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.9/5
• Spend Time Sitting4.8/5
• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.7/5
• Contact With Others4.7/5
• E-Mail4.7/5
• Time Pressure4.7/5

Related Careers

• Editors
• Desktop Publishers
• Technical Writers
• Word Processors and Typists
• File Clerks
• Writers and Authors
• Data Entry Keyers
• Computer Occupations, All Other

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

• Medical Transcriptionists93% skill match
• Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants90% skill match
• Technical Writers89% skill match
• Editors89% skill match
• Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products88% skill match
• Judicial Law Clerks88% skill match
• Neurologists87% skill match
• Cartographers and Photogrammetrists87% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

• Time Managementimportance 2.8/5
• Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 2.5/5
• Complex Problem Solvingimportance 2.4/5
• Quality Control Analysisimportance 2.4/5
• Social Perceptivenessimportance 2.3/5
• Coordinationimportance 2.3/5
• Systems Analysisimportance 2.0/5
• Systems Evaluationimportance 2.0/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

• Attention to Detail
• Dependability
• Cautiousness
• Perseverance
• Achievement Orientation
• Cooperation
• Stress Tolerance

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

• ConventionalHigh
• ArtisticMedium
• InvestigativeLow
• SocialLow
• EnterprisingLow
• RealisticLow

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where proofreaders and copy markers make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

1. 1Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY3.53× national avg
2. 2New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ3.48× national avg
3. 3Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH2.18× national avg
4. 4Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN1.99× national avg
5. 5St. Louis, MO-IL1.71× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

• EditorsCareer Change
• Technical WritersCareer Change
• Film and Video EditorsCareer Change
• Cartographers and PhotogrammetristsCareer Change

See the full career path from Proofreaders and Copy Markers →

Related Education Programs

Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.