Indexers
Overview
Introduction
Indexers compile organized lists, called indexes, that help people locate information in a text or body of work. Indexes are like "road maps" that help users find desired information. Just as a map allows travelers to select the most direct route to a destination, indexes should provide users with a basis for selecting relevant information and screening out that which is unwanted. They provide an alphabetized collection of important words and phrases that appear throughout the text, along with page numbers where those words and phra...
Quick Facts
Median Salary
Employment Prospects
Minimum Education Level
Experience
Skills
Personality Traits
Earnings
The career Web site GlassDoor.com reported that indexers had average annual salaries of $38,196 in 2020, with earnings ranging from less than $30,000 to $45,000 or more. Salaries can vary greatly depending on location, industry, and experience.
Freelance indexing has the potential to be more lucrative than in-house indexing, but offers less financial security. Freelance indexers must pr...
Work Environment
Full-time indexers usually work between 35 and 40 hours a week in typical office settings. Freelance indexers may work out of their homes or take temporary assignments in the offices of employers. The amount of pressure an indexer experiences varies greatly with the type of indexing. Those who compile indexes for newspapers must sift rapidly through great quantities of information and regularly...
Outlook
The U.S. Department of Labor predicts that employment in the book, periodical, newspaper, and directory publishing industry will decline by 27 percent through 2028. Publishers in the 21st century will tend toward computer-assisted indexing, making it necessary for indexers to be well versed in the use of computer programs. Computers are not likely to replace human indexers, who have thought-pro...