Proofreader Salary

If you are someone who is an avid reader, if you are someone who can spot even a single grammatical or language mistake while reading something, then a career in editing and proofreading awaits you. When you go through any article in newspaper or read a magazine or a book, you must have seen that there are hardly any mistakes in them. Have you ever wondered how does this happen? Well, it only means that the content has been proofread! Scroll down to know the job description and salary of a proofreader.

Job Description and Salary of a Proofreader

A proofreader's main job is to check the graphics and text of a given written material for any kind of mistakes in grammar, spellings or typographical errors. A proofreader may be employed by a business organization, a university, a college, an advertising firm or a publisher, but his basic work remains the same i.e. to look for and correct mistakes in the manuscript, before it is sent for printing and public distribution. The following journey of a manuscript to turn into printed pages will help you understand the work of a proofreader better.

When the manuscript is produced by a writer in English language, it is sent to the proofreader so that any mistakes in it can be identified. This is done before the manuscript is typeset. After the proofreading is done, the typesetter set the manuscript, which is commonly known as "galleys" in the publishing language. The proofreader reads the "galleys" and compares them with the manuscript to look for any kind of typographical errors, grammar and spelling mistakes. A proofreader makes sure that the size, spacing, font is in accordance to what has been recommended by the page designer. He also checks the page numbers, charts, photos and tables (if any) for correction.

While correcting the "galleys", a proofreader makes use of standard "marks" which are used by all proofreader in the publishing industry. Besides the proofreader, the "galleys" are given to the writers and editors as well and if they suggest any changes, the same are included in the "master set". You may go to editor job description. This "master set" is re-checked by the page designer, send to the typesetter for making the corrections and finally send back to the proofreader. The proofreader again goes through the "master set", looks for mistakes, suggests corrections and finally the "master set" is sent for printing.

As you can see, the job of a proofreader is of immense responsibility. Now, let's look at the salary. The salary of a proofreader varies greatly in accordance to the industry he is employed in, his experience in the field as well as the location of his job. According to the United States Department of Labor, in the year 2009, the average salary was around $32,500. Location wise, the salary was the highest in Massachusetts, around $40,830 while industry wise, the highest salary was in brokerage, approximately $43,730 on an average, in the same year.

If you look at the current statistics, in the year 2011, a proofreader's salary was anywhere between $ 25,434 and $ 53,142, depending upon the years of experience in this field. Currently, the average salary of a freelance proofreader is around $38000. The salary of an assistant proofreader in the year 2011 was approximately $35000 on an average.

Looking at the salary, one can conclude that it is not amongst the most lucrative professions today. Also, the United States Department of Labor has predicted that this profession will see a six percent downfall in job growth between the years 2008 and 2018. However, for people who have an eye for detail and for whom reading is a passion, this can be one of the most interesting professions to enter.