Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

lexicographertocopy editor

A lexicographer already meets 40% of what the copy editor role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.

From lexicographer
40%
Overlap1
To copy editor
8 Skills carried over
6 Required, not held
57.1 Difficulty2
Career overlap Partial match

40%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

57.1/ 100

1 Share of the copy editor role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the lexicographer profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A copy editor role treats 7 of its required skills as things a lexicographer already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • apply grammar and spelling rules
  • consult with editor
  • copyright legislation
  • follow work schedule
  • grammar
  • spelling

What stands in the way is 6 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A copy editor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a lexicographer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held use dictionaries information skills
  • already held consult with editor communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held spelling arts and humanities
  • already held consult information sources information skills
  • already held grammar arts and humanities
  • already held apply grammar and spelling rules communication, collaboration and creativity

All 8 carried skills, including the 7 the copy editor role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 20 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 required, 5 supplementary
  • required, not held suggest revision of manuscripts required
  • required, not held follow a brief required
  • required, not held track changes in text editing required
  • optional, not held adapt to artists' creative demands optional
  • optional, not held rewrite articles optional
  • optional, not held rewrite manuscripts optional
  • optional, not held write headlines optional
  • optional, not held proofread text optional
02 arts and humanities 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held typography required
  • required, not held writing techniques required
  • optional, not held literature optional
03 social sciences, journalism and information 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held digital journalism required
  • optional, not held editorial standards optional
04 assisting and caring 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held follow ethical code of conduct of journalists optional
  • optional, not held follow newspaper house style optional
05 information and communication technologies (icts) 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held desktop publishing optional
  • optional, not held office software optional
06 information skills 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held read manuscripts optional
  • optional, not held review unpublished articles optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a copy editor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 8 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held apply grammar and spelling rules skill
  • already held consult with editor skill
  • already held copyright legislation knowledge
  • already held follow work schedule skill
  • already held grammar knowledge
  • already held spelling knowledge
  • already held use dictionaries skill
  • already held consult information sources skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to acquire Tier
07 working with computers 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held adapt to artists' creative demands optional
  • optional, not held follow ethical code of conduct of journalists optional
  • optional, not held follow newspaper house style optional
  • optional, not held read manuscripts optional
  • optional, not held review unpublished articles optional
  • optional, not held rewrite articles optional
  • optional, not held rewrite manuscripts optional
  • optional, not held write headlines optional
  • optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
  • optional, not held desktop publishing optional
  • optional, not held editorial standards optional
  • optional, not held literature optional
  • optional, not held office software optional
  • optional, not held proofread text optional
20 held skills the copy editor role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role create definitions skill
  • not needed by the target role create semantic trees skill
  • not needed by the target role develop technical glossaries skill
  • not needed by the target role do historical research skill
  • not needed by the target role edit dictionary entries skill
  • not needed by the target role identify new words skill
  • not needed by the target role linguistics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
  • not needed by the target role practical lexicography knowledge
  • not needed by the target role project management principles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role scientific research methodology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role search databases skill
  • not needed by the target role search engines knowledge
  • not needed by the target role supervise staff skill
  • not needed by the target role supervise work skill
  • not needed by the target role theoretical lexicography knowledge
  • not needed by the target role translate foreign language skill
  • not needed by the target role translate language concepts skill
  • not needed by the target role typology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role use word processing software skill
7 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier
  • required, not held digital journalism required
  • required, not held typography required
  • required, not held writing techniques required
  • optional, not held desktop publishing optional
  • optional, not held editorial standards optional
  • optional, not held literature optional
  • optional, not held office software optional
Index

Other moves recorded from lexicographer

Full index of moves from lexicographer

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.