High School

Internet content curators need good writing skills, so be sure to take as many English and creative writing classes as possible. Business and mathematics classes will come in handy if you plan to launch your own content curation business. Some employers require content curators to be familiar with web design and HTML, so take as many computer science classes as you can. Many content curators specialize in a particular subject—often an area of personal interest. If you already have a specialty in mind, take classes in these areas (such as music, science, theater, etc.)

Postsecondary Education

Although content curators have a wide range of educational backgrounds, many have degrees in English, communications, business, marketing, and history. Some curators enter the field after first working as librarians. In this instance, they would have a master’s degree in library science.

Certification

Many colleges offer undergraduate and graduate certificates in creative writing, library science, business management, editing, information science, and related areas. Contact schools in your area to learn about available programs.  

Other Education or Training

Professional associations such as the American Library Association, Editorial Freelancers Association, and Association of Independent Information Professionals provide continuing education classes, webinars, and workshops that will be useful to content curators. Classes focus on collection organization, research strategies, and launching and operating a successful business. Contact these organizations for more information.

Certification or Licensing

No certification or licensing is available for Internet content curators.

Any experience one can obtain in the field of content curation, such as an internship or creating your own curated site about one of your hobbies, will be useful.

Content curators need to have an “eye” for what is interesting and useful for their audience. They must be able to work quickly and have a detail-oriented personality; good organizational, research, and writing skills (including the ability to write summaries with search optimization strategies in mind); and the ability to work well independently. Content curators must be extremely comfortable using the Internet, photo editing software such as Adobe PhotoShop, and content curation software. Some companies require curators to be skilled at Web design and using HTML.