There are some fields where it is of the utmost importance to be educated, trained, and even certified or credentialed in order to do the job right. No one would want to go to a dentist who does not have a DDS degree, for instance. Nor should you hire an attorney who has not been to law school. But proofreading training and education is different.
You do not need any formal training or education to begin proofreading. It is true that some proofreading jobs do require previous experience, but there are many clients whose primary concern is hiring someone who can do the work. For them, your educational bona fides are largely irrelevant. Nevertheless, formal and professional experience can give you a leg up by teaching you skills and providing certifications and other external validation of your abilities.
Proofreading training and education can come in several formats, including formal education, online training, professional experience, and on-the-job training. Each option can provide value and help you grow as a proofreader.
Formal education
It is possible to get a college degree or certificate that can help you with a proofreading career. As mentioned previously, some clients are looking for proofreaders who have degrees in fields such as English, journalism, or communications. Having these types of degrees can open up doors for jobs for which you might not otherwise qualify.
Many community colleges and universities offer educational paths like this. Although tuition costs continue to rise, you may find a college or university in your area with an affordable degree or certificate option.
Formal education can be a great option to consider if you are in a situation to take advantage of it. A quality program can give you a strong foundation in language, grammar, writing, and style. It can also lend credibility to your name. At the same time, it can cost a significant amount of time and money. Pursuing a degree or certificate can also delay your ability to start proofreading for clients.
Online training
Another option to consider is online training. These are not accredited programs tied into a college or university. They are application-focused boot camps designed by professionals in the field to bring you up to speed quickly. The goal of the training programs is to teach you only what you need to know to start freelancing. Typically, they are just a few weeks in duration and usually cost significantly less than full-fledged degrees or certificate programs. This site, for example, is a free online training program designed to give you everything you need to know to start proofreading. Everything on it is written by an active professional proofreader with the goal of distilling the required knowledge into easy-to-digest and-apply chunks. If you are a driven self-starter, you can take the information on this website and confidently start your own proofreading business.
Paid courses are available online as well. These courses provide much of the same material as the website but tend to have more hands-on and coaching opportunities. They can be a good option if you need some accountability or enjoy learning as part of a group. Prices for paid online courses can range from as little as $50, sometimes even cheaper, to several hundred dollars.
Online training is valuable in that it is designed to get you up to speed and into the freelance proofreading market quickly at minimal cost. The downside is that it doesn’t always add much value to your resume or freelance profile, since the courses are generally not accredited in any way.
Professional experience
Professional experience is another choice when it comes to proofreading training and education. This is especially true if you are entering into freelance proofreading from a career in another field.
There are many opportunities to leverage professional experience. For example, say you had a previous job where your duties included writing or updating documentation. You were very likely proofreading or editing that work even if you didn’t consider it at the time. That experience can be referenced when you bid for jobs.
Having previous professional experience can be very helpful in other ways. You undoubtedly had to work with other people, learn to prioritize and delegate tasks, and manage your workload to get assignments done on time. All of these skills are directly transferable to freelance proofreading.
Remember that professional experience can include more than just paid jobs. Perhaps you are a member of a church or a club and keep meeting minutes or review materials for accuracy. Maybe you proofread a friend’s college papers as a favor or just because you enjoy doing it. All of these skills count when it comes to proofreader training and experience you can leverage.
On-the-job training
Arguably the most beneficial type of proofreading training and education you can pursue is on-the-job training. Intellectual knowledge is a wonderful foundation, but there is simply no substitute for actually doing the work.
As you begin to get clients and start working as a proofreader, you will learn the ins and outs of the trade. You will find out what works for you, and over time you will begin to narrow down what niches in which you want to concentrate.
You will likely start to see many of the same errors. This will reinforce and improve your knowledge of English. You will learn how to better work with clients through repetition as well.
Summing it up: Proofreading training and education
The main types of training and education for a career in proofreading include formal degrees and certificates, online coursework, previous professional and volunteer experience, and on-the-job training. Your decision about which opportunities to pursue depends on factors like goals, resources at hand, current skill sets, personality, and preferred learning styles.
Regardless of which of the above routes you choose, it is important to remember that one of the biggest keys to becoming a successful proofreader is to always make learning and self-improvement a priority.