When I started seriously looking at freelancing as an editor, I kept asking myself the same question: What makes me different from everyone else doing this? My degree gave me a strong foundation, but it didn’t answer everything. That’s when I realized that continued education—and the communities you choose to learn from—can shape your career just as much as formal schooling. Professional associations are one of the best ways to do that. The Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA), in particular, is an excellent resource for anyone looking to build editing experience and establish a professional reputation. The EFA offers a wide range of copyediting-specific trainings at different experience levels, many of which are…

I didn’t go back to college because it was the obvious next step. I had already built a career without a degree and could continue along that path (which I am currently). I went back because the idea had been sitting in the back of my mind for years—quietly waiting for the right moment, a time that wasn’t complicated with moving around every few years. By the time I logged back into a college portal, life had already taken me through full-time work, management roles, and more than one cross-country move. When I graduated high school in 2008, the country seemed to drop out from under us. Career advice sounded…