Desktop publishers held about 9,500 jobs in 2021. The largest employers of desktop publishers were as follows:
| Newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers | 28% |
| Self-employed workers | 16 |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 13 |
| Printing and related support activities | 2 |
Work Schedules
Many desktop publishers work full time, and they may need to work additional hours to meet publication deadlines.
Desktop publishers usually need an associate’s degree. They also receive short-term on-the-job training, lasting about 1 month.
Education
Desktop publishers usually need an associate’s degree, often in graphic design or graphic communications. Community colleges and technical schools offer desktop-publishing courses, which teach students how to create electronic page layouts and format text and graphics with the use of desktop-publishing software.
Training
Desktop publishers typically receive short-term on-the-job training lasting about 1 month. They learn by working closely with more experienced workers or by taking classes that teach them how to use desktop-publishing software. Workers often need to continue training because publishing software changes over time.
Other Experience
Many employers prefer to hire workers who have experience preparing layouts and using desktop-publishing software. Students may gain experience by working on a publication for a school or other organization.
Desktop publishers typically have an interest in the Creating and Organizing interest areas, according to the Holland Code framework. The Creating interest area indicates a focus on being original and imaginative, and working with artistic media. The Organizing interest area indicates a focus on working with information and processes to keep things arranged in orderly systems.
If you are not sure whether you have a Creating or Organizing interest which might fit with a career as a desktop publisher, you can take a career test to measure your interests.
Desktop publishers should also possess the following specific qualities:
Artistic ability. Desktop publishers must have a good eye for how graphics and text will look to create pages that are visually appealing, legible, and easy to read.
Communication skills. Desktop publishers talk through different concepts for a page layout with writers, editors, and graphic designers. They listen to ideas and explain their own.
Computer skills. Many desktop publishers use computer software exclusively when creating page layouts and formatting text and graphics.
Detail oriented. When designing and reviewing page layouts, desktop publishers must pay careful attention to details such as margins, font sizes, and the overall appearance and accuracy of their work.
Organizational skills. Desktop publishers often work under strict deadlines and must be good at scheduling and prioritizing tasks in order to have a document ready on time for publication.
The median annual wage for desktop publishers was $46,910 in May 2021. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $27,770, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $79,630.
In May 2021, the median annual wages for desktop publishers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | $74,940 |
| Printing and related support activities | 48,620 |
| Newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers | 36,980 |
Many desktop publishers work full time, and they may need to work additional hours to meet publication deadlines.
Employment of desktop publishers is projected to decline 14 percent from 2021 to 2031.
Despite declining employment, about 900 openings for desktop publishers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. All of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Employment
Companies are expected to hire fewer desktop publishers as desktop-publishing tasks are increasingly performed by other types of workers, such as graphic designers, web designers, and editors. Furthermore, as organizations continue to publish their materials electronically instead of printing them, fewer desktop publishers are expected to be needed.