What Education is Needed to get into Magazines / Publishing?

[UniqueChic]

I was working at Shop Til You Drop; i emailed the editorial co-ordinator directly, and organized a week with her. Who you contact depends on the publication and the department you want to work in. I realized after i got there i should have called the fashion office co-ord, cause that's where i wanted to be.
Since you're in Sydney, i would recommend going in once a week for as long as you can, that way you can make some useful contacts who you will see on a regular basis as opposed to every day for a week then they will forget who you are and what a great job you did!
Just contact the mag you're interested in and let them know you're available to volunteer 1 day a week, or whatever.

 

[UniqueChic]

I'm still studying as well, but like i said before, it seems to be more about who you know, not what you know. Once you prove you can write, i'm sure it won't matter that your degree isn't specifically fashion journalism with a major in shoes!!

 

[fairy]

^^thanx, great tipps!

 

[Lena]

Once you prove you can write, i'm sure it won't matter that your degree isn't specifically fashion journalism with a major in shoes!!

thats so true
fashion writting is not too much about degrees

 

[Yanka]

Lcf

Hi!!!! everyone, this is my first post ever, i have finally figured out how to register... i know.. I did a year of art foundation in UK specializing in fashion design and it made me realize im gonna be a total failure as a designer. I was wiritng a column for a moscow newspaper at the time and it got a lot of attention so i decided to apply for a fashion promotion BA in London College of Fashion and got accepted. It sounds like a good course and loads of british top editors/journalists/tv presenters graduated from there, im starting in october. The editor of Russian Harper's Bazaar went there and got the job when she was 21!!!! I really dont know what to expect of it tho. I believe that an education in journalism is useful but definetly not a "must", you can get in with a degree in English or Fashion design or no degree at all. Anna Wintour for example didnt even finish high school

 

[Lena]

welcome to tFS Fluffer , thanks for the feedback

 

[Cicciolina]

Thank you UniqueChic! I'm going to start emailing magazines now. Did you organise your work experience yourself or was it through school/uni? As I remember when I was at school I had to take out work experience insurance which my school took care of - as I'm in uni I will have to do this on my own. Where there any other procedures you had to do concerning work experience at magazines? Oh and who would be the best person to ask? Sorry for all the questions *blush*

 

[roxe]

Hi im just wondering if anyone can give me info Digital/lay out design jobs (art directing?)
What sort of courses would anyone suggest doing- maybe something like graphic design? i am already studying architecture- so i already have quite alot of experience with programs/design.
Again work experience the way to go?

 

[songbirdsel]

what a great topic! I too have been daydreaming about a career in a fashion through either magazine editor or buyer etc. Im from Melbourne and intersted in getting my foot through the door, do you have any tips?? I noticed you mentioned Sydney for work expirience, are there any good magazines that are based in Melbourne??


Thank you

sel xx

 

[lara_banana]

well i found out about different magazines from talking to my hairdresser she does hair for most of the major editors. Or eslse another idea is to continuously send out your resume or some sort of essay explaining who you are... and email them around to loads of magazines! or else the other thing i did was got friendly with some shop keepers who hav small name brands and ask if they can give you resume to there PR person and get it out that way!
You've basically jut got to get your name out into the industry....
i hope this helps, because thats all i have done and ive got work experience at a number of magazines in Sydney!

 

[songbirdsel]

Thank you very much, it really does help! I think its just quite daunting to and approach the bigger magazines but I will definetly have a go!

Thanks again

sel xx

 

[ShockTart55]

What about the people who pick the clothes the models wear?? or who pick the clothes that are featured in the magazine. What are those people called? and what kind of education would I need to become that? Thanks so much by the way.

 

[BetteT]

That is either a fashion stylist when they work freelance (like me) or a fashion editor when they actually work for the magazine. No specific schooling is needed. People get into styling all sorts of ways.

Freelance styling is usually similar to my experience. With me, a fashion photographer friend needed help in styling some of her shoots and dragged me with her. I discovered I not only could do it, I loved it. So I started my business with her and made connections with others for other gigs. I do get to do some magazine work ... it's competitive to get it ... so it depends on who you know and how well they like your work. In my case, I'm usaully recommended for the job by a makeup artist or photographer that's being considered. BTW ... most freelance magazine styling pays very little if anything ... it's something we do for credits so we can put that into our portolfios and resumes to use to apply for the joabs that do pay ... advertising, catalogs, corporate, lifestye stuff.

If you want to be a fashion editor ... it's one of those jobs that you work up to ... so a background in journalism, fashion design, fasihon merchandising ... any thing like that might get you that entry level job an a fashion magazine. You work up from there. All of that has already discussed before ... about how to get work on a fashion magazine.

 

[UniqueChic]

Thank you UniqueChic! I'm going to start emailing magazines now. Did you organise your work experience yourself or was it through school/uni? As I remember when I was at school I had to take out work experience insurance which my school took care of - as I'm in uni I will have to do this on my own. Where there any other procedures you had to do concerning work experience at magazines? Oh and who would be the best person to ask? Sorry for all the questions *blush*

Sorry it took so long to reply!

Work experience is a non-negotiable for me, if i didn't do it i wouldn't be able to graduate! We have a class called 'Industry Placement,' and we organize the work experience ourselves and it gets okayed by our tutor. I emailed PR people, advertising people and mag people myself and my tutor just gave me the insurance forms to fill out and fax off.

There should be a course co-ordinator who can give you forms for insurance. The process was quite informal.

Who's the best person to ask what? B)

 

[adle]

I thought I would jump in here and she if anyone could give me some advice......I am really interested in PhotoJournalism but my university does not offer a Journalism major, only an English major....currently I am a Photography major....will that be enough? Should I try to minor in English even though it isnt Journalism just so I have some writing background with my Photography degree? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, Thanks!

 

[Sunkist]

Many of the *writers* at magazines are actually freelancers. However, to be an *editor*, you'll need to typically be an editorial assistant out of college, and then move your way up. Because of the competition, you almost always have to have an internship first if you want to work at a bigger name--some people will intern after graduation, while others will get internships during the school year or over the summers. At the bigger magazines, a lot of the Editorial Assistants will have gone to good colleges (lots of Northeastern private schools represented). They won't necessarily have degrees in journalism or fashion--in fact, many of them have bachelor's degrees in fields like English, History, etc. If you're an EA at a bigger magazine, after a few years, people often leave for positions at smaller magazines, then if they prove themselves, they might return to the bigger names.

For the business end of magazines, you'll also have to start out as an assistant after college, too--usually a Sales Assistant who works under the sales reps. Again, I think that it really, really helps to have an internship experience if you want to get a Sales Assistant job, just to help you stand out from the masses of people applying. I think they typically aren't as picky about your educational background and credentials for sales as for editorial, although you'll still need a college degree...the people who are successful tend to be those that have good basic sales skills.

 

[LoveMyBoots]

I hope this helps , it actually repeats a lot of what others on this board have said but they also interview fashion editors how they got their jobs :

http://www.fashion.net/howto/fashioneditor/

 

[tastes_like_chic]

I was going to do work experience at Shop till you Drop but unfortunatly I couldn't come up with the $$$ to get to Sydney (in QLD).... Anyway, as Unique Chic has said, just email a mag directly about work experience. STYD gets back really fast

 

[nappywun]

Hi im just wondering if anyone can give me info Digital/lay out design jobs (art directing?)
What sort of courses would anyone suggest doing- maybe something like graphic design? i am already studying architecture- so i already have quite alot of experience with programs/design.
Again work experience the way to go?

Roxe,
I am a creative director for a magazine (not fashion related) and I will say work experience is the best preparation. Knowing the programs is only 25% of the job. Knowing how ot use the programs to create the look you want is key. Get as much experience as possible. Look to freelancing for individual businesses and friends and family along with internships even if they're not fashion related. The more projects you do, you will become better at balancing creativity and practicallity in your layouts.

Having worked for fashion magazines in the past, I can say that practicality is just as important as creativity. Not every layout can be fresh and exciting. There is a great deal of knowing what graphic elements will support the editorial without overshadowing the content.

Good luck!

 

[writergal28]

Magazines like to see a degree in journalism or English and an interest in fashion/beauty if you're interested in editorial. I would say that you could get in with a background in PR or advertising if you have enough experience.