What is the annual salary for a proofreader?

I haven’t been able to figure it out from searching here and elsewhere. I see hints of something around $18,000 and having to work more than 40 hours a week and more than five days a week.

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

Most editors are ICs and are paid by the piece. Most work from home, have no employee benefits and probably would have to work many, many hours to reach $18,000.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

If I remember correctly, some editors have reported it being as low as a few dollars per report, Obviously, it wouldn't matter how long it took, from 15 minutes for something short and well written to more than an hour for some of the hot messes they have to rewrite from scratch.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

Hmm. This company is offering health, dental, vision, and life insurance. Also, they have STD and LTD and a 401(k). What might that mean in terms of salary?

Why don't you ask them? If they are hiring editors as employees, anything over 40 hours would be eligible for over time. Depending on a person's needs, $1,500 a month to be home-based may work. Sure it is not a boatload of money, but when you take away the added expenses involved in commuting it could work out.

@beolein wrote:

they have STD

I mean maybe this is bad advice but that's something I normally try to stay away from........

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

I think its short term not sexual. It's something that I once got a double dose of. Work and AFLAC.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2017 02:09AM by 2stepps.

I think i forgot to use the sarcastafont

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

I'd rather stab myself in the eye with a pencil repeatedly than ever be a "proofreader" who had to be chained to a desk for 40 hours a week. It was bad enough being an editor for 20 hours a week, even in the dead of winter when it was snowing a lot and I was housebound. The pay sucked, but it was IC work and I was allowed to take off the "chain" and roam to do shops...working as an employee I am quite sure you would not be allowed to do shops for other companies, and...gawd allmighty, 40 hours? UGHHHH!!!!!

Change in pay can be rough and it is certainly a balancing act. When I was working just out of the house, I found I was getting good money but spending much more than 40 hours on the work. I would study before and after hours, spend time off the clock trying to catch up, and spend time off the clock reviewing notes and watching videos/information after on-the-clock study time and classes. This was for charge backs and fraud prevention, though. Editing and proofreading might not be as bad, or it could be worse.

MegglesKat

The benefits are going to be better than the wage for sure.

Consider the work. Anyone who looks at my work might well demand hazard pay! On average, or considering the variety of writers and skills, how difficult will the job be for you?

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

I have done editing/proofreading for two different companies. The pay ranged from $1.00 per report to $7.00 per report. If they were well-written, this was great - but often you need to go back to the shopper for clarification, fix horrific grammar errors, and/or rewrite the paragraphs entirely.

It is fine for a PT job, and typically, you can choose how many reports per day you would like to edit. It is extremely difficult to do this type of work well FT. After about eight reports, you start to lose focus and need a break.

It is also a thankless job. I have seen multiple threads on this site about crazy, demanding editors. Please note that "our" work is also checked and reviewed, and if we submit things to the client with errors, it is our head that is on the chopping block.

**********************************
Always take the high road.

I was not happy when did it as a full time job, but was making close to $50k...which I trhink it probably the high end for that type of work. $18k seems pretty low.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I was not happy when did it as a full time job, but was making close to $50k...which I trhink it probably the high end for that type of work. $18k seems pretty low.

That wouldn't be half bad if this allows you to live wherever you want as long as you have access to the internet and you have minimal living expenses.

Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!

It wouldn't be half-good, either, I promise you, unless perhaps you were physically disabled and/or unable to work outside of the home for some other reason. Editing made me crazy doing it part time. It's very frustrating when you realize how many people do not have a good understanding of the English language and/or can't follow guidelines, and I am not talking about ESL people, either.

@Tarantado wrote:

That wouldn't be half bad if this allows you to live wherever you want...

Yeah...but hard to live on in L.A., sadly.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

Yeah...but hard to live on in L.A., sadly.

It doesn't have to be LA, but more as to travel from city to city on a short term basis to explore what this world has to offer.

Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!

But you really wouldn't have time to spend enjoying anything...and to make that much I would imagine you are an employee, not an IC, and would not be allowed to do hotels or other shops for other MSCs, so while traveling, lodging, food, and gas would all be on your own dime.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

But you really wouldn't have time to spend enjoying anything...and to make that much I would imagine you are an employee, not an IC, and would not be allowed to do hotels or other shops for other MSCs, so while traveling, lodging, food, and gas would all be on your own dime.

Yes, that was the main issue for me. I was a salaried employee and worked all of the time. Seven days a week, mainly from home, and was prohibited from taking shops for my MSC as well as others. I would travel for work at times to meet with clients, or visit a restaurant to set standards for them, but that was about it.

While the bottom line on my tax returns showed as being more profitable than when I was a full-time shopper, my lifestyle was not nearly as good.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

It wouldn't be half-good, either, I promise you, unless perhaps you were physically disabled and/or unable to work outside of the home for some other reason. Editing made me crazy doing it part time. It's very frustrating when you realize how many people do not have a good understanding of the English language and/or can't follow guidelines, and I am not talking about ESL people, either.

It was crazy to see big time posters on V turn in reports that were horrendous. Some reports had to be completely re-written. Basically, I took the Y/N and the receipt and wrote it myself. Makes you jaded after awhile.

I actually wouldn't mind to start out doing a few of these if it involved being able to say I wanted to do a single report edit each day. I'm not sure I'd be a good fit, though. My writing isn't exactly tip-top. I tend to make simple grammar errors, overuse commas, under-use commas, goof up on hyphens, not know where the apostrophes go.... and so forth and so on. 0_o

MegglesKat

I don't know how much the editors are making at ACL, but I worked for a smaller company making $5 a report.

How long did it take, on average, to work on a report? Thanks

@pegc wrote:

How long did it take, on average, to work on a report? Thanks

It totally depends on the shop and the quality of the report. I have edited reports in under three minutes if no changes were required. Ones that are longer and require rewrites can take much longer. There are many variables.

Think of the reports that you submit. If they are perfect - in an ideal world, an editor just has to read what you wrote, and send it in. You would think that happens the majority of the time, but it doesn't.

**********************************
Always take the high road.

I would never agree to a pre-report rate unless is was quote high. Some reports when I was an employee took half a day to fix. Others needed a proofread with perhaps a few minutes of touch-up work.

Agreed with the others that it was somewhat depressing to see the quality of work submitted....and also the lack of understand for what the job entails. The members of this forum are in the top tier as far as knowledge of the industry and writing ability goes.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

But you really wouldn't have time to spend enjoying anything...and to make that much I would imagine you are an employee, not an IC, and would not be allowed to do hotels or other shops for other MSCs, so while traveling, lodging, food, and gas would all be on your own dime.

'

Yeah, being not being able to take on shops would be pretty restricting.

In all honestly, if I could work my current job 100% remote, I'd be constantly traveling all around the world, even if I am working a minimum 40 hours per week. Someday.... The tough part is creating the same kind of income I'm making with my full-time career though. Maybe the industry I'm in will continue to evolve to where 100% is a common and accepted practice.

Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!

I love working as an editor. The pay isn't bad, I get to set my hours and take off when I need to.

@Tarantado wrote:

In all honestly, if I could work my current job 100% remote, I'd be constantly traveling all around the world, even if I am working a minimum 40 hours per week.

It's really restricting with the time it takes to travel + working 40 hours. You'd have to have a really well paying job....

I am required to be in LA about 8 months out of the year for my job and am free to travel the rest of the time, but between the MSing and work emails, I'm pretty exhausted after a few weeks of travel and need to come home at times to reset. The longest I've stayed out of town was 6 weeks.

Do you mind sharing how long you have been editing and for which company?

@yogajunkie wrote:

I love working as an editor. The pay isn't bad, I get to set my hours and take off when I need to.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

What is the annual salary for a proofreader?

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine