Could I be an Editor?

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I love critiquing other people's work, and I get a rush from it. It seems like a job that doesn't have too much socialization involved, and it just seems to fit as a temproary job until I publish some of my work! What do you guys think?
What would I have to take in University in order to get that job?

I would think Journalism classes would do it.

i did a journalism degree in lincoln, and was of f**k all use. a year and a half after graduating, and i still haven't managed to find a job. have even thought about taking out frustrations on other people because of it.

try creative writing courses instead. they'll probably have a lesser chance of leading to insanity and paranoia, which is what's been plaguing my mind over the past months

Yeah, English is probably your best bet. That way you can study literature to help your writing, take creative writing courses, and also take courses in grammar. If your college is large or has a journalism department you may also be able to take courses in editing, professional writing (like technical writing or copywriting for ads/press releases), or magazine writing. You may want to explore schools that give you options to take those kind of courses toward your degree, rather than just studyng Romance literature and poetry (unless that's what you want to study...)

A journalism degree can also help, as can a specialized degree like communications or professional writing, but you might not enjoy it as much as a broader english program. When you're in school, just try to work for your school newspaper or literary journal and get some editing experience. Maybe do some internships at magazines, newspapers, or publishing houses.

As mentioned above, you can also help yourself by building expertise in a technical area. The easiest way to do this is to take a minor or a double major in another field. Math is a good option if you want to get into textbook publishing. If you have an affinity for computers, that's probably a really good area to specialize in. There are tons of technical writing and editing positions out there, and people who are good with computers aren't always good at writing. So if you can understand computers, you can always help convert user manuals and technical documents into user-friendly language. Other areas you might want to consider specalizing in are life sciences or a foreign language (then you can do translation as well as editing).

Of course, you don't need to specialize. Just having the degree in English/communications/journalism is usually the only educational requirement to be an editor. You usually need to have some experience in order to break in - so this could be through editing activities at school or internships. But there are alsosome post-degree courses out there in copyediting (eg mediabistro.com offers courses online) and this can also help you break in as an editor once you graduate.

As far as getting an editing job goes, basically you'll need:

1) A university degree. Preferably English/communications/journalism, but having a minor in something else will help you reach specialized markets (but is by no means necessary).

2) Some editing experience/training (either through coursework and/or on a school paper).

You can probably find people now who will pay you to edit their stuff (eg schoolwork), and that's always a good way to get some experience, but to get a "real" editing job these days, you usually need the 2 points above. Learn about editing, get some experience, and talk to people who work in the field. That's really all you need to do.

I have long believed that in another life I could have made a good editor. It's a challenge taking someone's work and making it better. But it is an interpersonal job, sometimes requiring a lot of tact. I do OK in 1:1 interaction, much better than with groups and maybe could have pulled it off. English would be a good major, and writing a lot yourself. Not to mention reading, reading, reading.