Editor questions- and a side question for Tolkien folks about Elves and horses

I've realized that I get almost as giddy when someone I've beta'ed for posts a fic and lists me as a beta (usually myself and someone else; two sets of eyes are always better than one!) and writes that I was astute, perceptive, or something similar, as I do when I receive reviews for my own stories that laud the story and/or my wordcraft. I really love editing. I seem to be pretty good at it. It would be really cool to earn money for writing, especially writing gay erotica with plot. Or just plotty stuff with gay sex as part of it. But I still think I'd enjoy doing that on the side, at my own pace, and being paid to edit fiction. Especially reading good authors. I finished reading I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb and cried. I don't do that very often, and it wasn't because it was the most gorgeously written book in the world, nor the most innovative and heart-wrenching (I sobbed the last few pages of His Dark Materials); it was because I really felt for the main character, and I really admired Lamb's clean prose and the overarching story. I think I could be a helpful editor for writers, and would love to do that, but there don't seem to be degree programs in editing. Am I missing something? Do you have to simply get into it somehow, and then people get your name out there? Or do you pay your penance at a newspaper or magazine or something and then segue into fiction?

( Elvish question )