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General Publishing

Types of Degrees General Publishing Majors Are Earning

Those studying General Publishing may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	84
Master’s Degree	253

What General Publishing Majors Need to Know

Studies in General Publishing build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that General Publishing graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in General Publishing emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.8 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• Communications and Media — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 4 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a General Publishing program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.9 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to General Publishing careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.9 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 5 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Speech Recognition — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, General Publishing graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Working with Computers	4.6 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.1 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7
Processing Information	3.9 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	3.9 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.8 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	3.7 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by General Publishing professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Web content management system CMS software	Web page creation and editing software	—
Adobe InDesign	Desktop publishing software	—
Facebook	Web page creation and editing software	—
Adobe InCopy	Word processing software	—
Polycom RealPresence	Video conferencing software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Cascading style sheets CSS	Web platform development software	—
WhiteSmoke	Word processing software	—
QuarkXPress	Desktop publishing software	—
CCI NewsGate	Web page creation and editing software	—
Social media sites	Web page creation and editing software	—
Adobe After Effects	Video creation and editing software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for General Publishing graduates include:

• Business Editor
• Newspaper Editor
• Fashion Editor
• Production Editor
• Assignment Editor
• Online Content Editor
• Manuscript Editor
• Telegraph Editor
• Technical Editor
• Photo Editor
• Censor
• Web Editor
• Development Editor
• Acute Editor
• Medical Editor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to General Publishing graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	80.4%
Master’s degree	17.0%
Post-master’s certificate	1.3%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.3%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in General Publishing?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 87.6% of General Publishing degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	298	87.6%
Men	42	12.4%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of General Publishing graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	206	60.6%
Asian	12	3.5%
Hispanic or Latino	49	14.4%
Black or African American	19	5.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1	0.3%
Two or More Races	22	6.5%
Race Unknown	15	4.4%
International Students	16	4.7%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do General Publishing Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of General Publishing graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$42,218
4 years	$59,025
5 years	$65,201

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $65,201 — roughly 54% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online General Publishing Programs

Fully online options is reported by IPEDS for General Publishing. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Master’s	3	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in General Publishing Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, General Publishing graduates earn a median of $59,025 four years after completion — roughly 55% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Publishing	09.10
Broadcast Journalism	09.0402
Communication, General	09.0100
Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other	09.9999
Journalism	09.0401

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.