Writer Career Guide

Are you naturally gifted at writing? Are you looking for an independent, exciting and adventurous career? Then look no further, as a career in writing may just be for you!

Writers are responsible for producing written content for advertisements, blogs, books, textbooks, magazines, movies, plays and television script. Writers don’t actually need any formal education, but having a bachelors degree in English or Journalism is often preferable. Writing is an important part of every industry, all across the world. If you love to write and have the talent, then the opportunities are endless!

Writer Career Ratings

(What these ratings mean)

Income

Career
Growth

Personal Growth

Contribution

Influence

Job Profiles

Real-Life Writer Job Profiles

Below is a list of links to anonymous job profiles of REAL PEOPLE who have filled out our survey and offered to share their insights with our users about their job in the Writer field.

ID	Job Title	Gender	Age	Earnings	City & State	Date
33949	Owner	Male	53	$500,000	Ellijay, GA	01/01/2010
33656	Travel Writer	Female	34	$126,000	LEES SUMMIT, MO	01/01/2010
33522	Publisher/Writer	Female	34	$75,000	Houston, TX	01/01/2010
33224	Freelance Writer	Female	23	$12,000	Roanoke Rapids, NC	01/01/2010
33000	Creative Genius	Female	38	$12,000	GRAY, NY	01/01/2010

Overview

What a Writer actually does

Writers develop content for advertisements, blogs, books, textbooks, magazines, movies, plays and television scripts. They can work in a huge variety of industries from academia to business, journalism to entertainment, making it a very versatile career option. Regardless of which industry they work in, a writers typical duties and responsibilities include:

Choosing subjects that interests readers (whether thats for books, websites or radio shows)
Writing fiction or nonfiction scripts, biographies, and other formats
Conducting research to get factual information and authentic detail
Writing advertising copy for newspapers, magazines, broadcasts, and the Internet
Presenting drafts to editors and clients for feedback
Working with editors and clients to shape material for publishing

Why they are needed

Writers play a crucial part in the world we live in. They tell stories, entertain us and inform us. They are needed because:

Writers tell us the truth and keep us informed, whether it’s about politics, history or the environment.
Writers entertain us by writing interesting content for books, television shows or radio shows.
Writers open our minds. They teach us things and offer us new perspectives.
Writers can create content that captivates people and entices them into a brand.

Pros and cons of a career as a Writer:

Pros:

Most writers love to write and therefore they have a career that they are truly passionate about
Writers get to be creative and use their imagination daily
Many writers are self-employed, which gives them great freedom
There is the potential to earn a lot of money
There is a lot of variety and opportunity, as writers can work in a huge array of settings

Cons:

It is a very competitive market
Writers are often self-employed and therefore can have a sporadic and inconsistent income
Writers will have to spend a lot of time marketing and promoting themselves
Writers may receive a lot of criticism – they need thick skin!
It can be isolating as a lot of the time writers will work alone

Employability

Job market

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall employment of writers is projected to decline 2% from 2019 to 2029. This decline in employment is expected because many new outlets, including digital outlets, are downsizing, which offers fewer opportunities to writers. Additionally, employment of writers and authors in newspaper, book, periodical and directory publishers is expected to decline as they industry consolidates and shrinks as more people find the information they need online.

Overall, there is strong competition for jobs as a writer. To have the best opportunities, writers should seek to adapt to online and social media. They should aim to be comfortable writing for and working with a variety of electronic and digital tools.

Career paths

Technically speaking, freelance writers can start without any formal education. However, more often then not, to become a full-time writer, a bachelors degree is needed. A bachelors degree in English, communications or journalism is preferable as this teaches aspiring writers the writing skills that are essential for success in the occupation.

Often, writers will can work experience before finishing their degree. They may work for high school and college newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations. Or, they may work for advertising and publishing companies or nonprofit organizations.

Example Job Titles for Writer

Below is a list of common job titles in the Writer field. Click the links below for more information about these job titles, or view the next section for actual real-life job profiles.

Benefits & Conditions

Income and benefits

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for writers in the United States was $63,200 in May 2019. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $33,660 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $112,450. The performing arts, spectator sports and other related industries was the top paying sector, with a median annual wage of $70,990. This was followed by religious, grantmaking, civic, professional and other similar organizations ($68,560), professional, scientific and technical services ($63,920) and then the information industry ($60,440).

Autonomy and Flexibility

Most writers are self-employed. As a result, they have full control over their decisions and how they arrange their schedule. However, in saying that, they often have to work to meet the needs of the contract they sign. Writers who work for companies will have less autonomy and flexibility. Often, their decisions are controlled by the creative directors or editors.

Locations and commute

According to Zippia, the best states to be a writer based on number of jobs available and average annual salary, are:

Connecticut, where the average annual salary was $73,135
Nevada, where the average annual salary was $62,317
Washington, where the average annual salary was $63,390
District of Columbia, where the average annual salary was $64,906
Delaware, where the average annual salary was $60,096

The worst states to be a writer, according to Zippia, are Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Hawaii.

Work environment

63% of writers in the United States are self-employed workers. The professional, scientific and technical services employ 10% of writers, the information services also employ 10%, the performing arts, spectator sports and related industries employ 3% and finally religious grant making, civic, professional and similar organizations employ 3%.

Jobs are somewhat concentrated in major media and entertainment markets. However, improved communications and internet capabilities allow writers and authors to work from almost anywhere. Some writers and authors prefer to work and travel to meet with publishers and clients and to do research or conduct interviews in person.

Career Satisfaction

Common Matching Personality Types

Which personalities tend to succeed and thrive in Writer careers? Based on our research, there is a relatively strong positive correlation between the following personality types and Writer career satisfaction. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t many exceptions, of course, but if you fit into one of the following personality types then we suggest you give strong consideration to a career in Writer.

16 Types (Myers-Briggs)

Big Five (OCEAN)

Conscientiousness

DISC

Enneagram

Type 4

Holland Codes (RIASEC)

Personality types

Writers are unique kinds of people. They have the skills and interests that many of us don’t – how many people do you know who want to write a whole book?

Typically, writers are creative, enthusiastic and inquisitive people. They like to work independently and are happy to spend their working day creating fantasies (or, researching real life things to write about!).

Accomplishment and mastery

Writers who are successful will feel high levels of accomplishment and mastery. Can you imagine how amazing it would feel to have your book published? Or to have people rave about your blog post? Good writers, who can captivate people, will feel a high sense of accomplishment and mastery throughout their whole career.

Meaning and contribution

As mentioned previously, writers are needed in the world we live in. They create stories, tell the truth and entertain us. As a result, writers are likely to feel that their work is meaningful, and that it contributes greatly to the lives of others.

Life fit

Some writers and authors work part time. Most keep regular office hours, either to stay in contact with sources and editors or to set up a writing routine, but many set their own hours. Others may need to work evenings and weekends to produce something acceptable for an editor or client.

Who will thrive in this career?

The most obvious quality a thriving writer will have is the ability to write. As well as this, writers will need qualities such as:

The creativity and imagination to come up with new content
The ability to work independently
Commitment and dedication to success
Attention to detail

Who will struggle in this career?

There are a few things that may mean that someone will struggle as a writer, for example:

Those who are not creative
Those who are looking for a stable 9-5
Those who aren’t talented at writing
Those who want to work as part of a large team

Requirements

Quick Glance

Skills

Degrees

Skills and talents

It goes without saying that writers need excellent writing skills. They must be able to write clearly and effectively, and they should be able to convey feeling and emotion. As well as this, writers need skills such as:

Adaptability, as they will need to use lots of different software programs and platform. They will also need to be able to adapt to meet the needs of lots of different clients
Business skills, as many freelance writers will need to market and promote themselves
Creativity, as writers will need to create unique and interesting content that captivates others
Critical-thinking, as writers must be able to understand new concepts and be able to convey these through writing
Determination, as it is a very competitive field and writers must be willing to work hard in order to succeed

Education

In general, writers need a bachelors degree in English, communications or journalism. These degrees teach aspiring writers the writing skills that are essential for success in the occupation.

Certifications

There are no specific certifications or licenses needed to become a writer in the United States. However, some associations such as the American Grant Writers’ Association offer certifications for writers, which show their competence, professionalism and give writers more opportunities for advancement.

How to Become

Summary

A career as a writer is an independent, exciting and adventurous one – suitable for those of you who are creative, bold and looking for a career with opportunities in many industries!

Immediate action

Writers need to be able to write, and they need to be able to demonstrate this skill. In order to have the best possible chances at a career as a writer, you should consider enrolling into some writing courses and beginning to develop your skills!

Education and learning

Although writers can actually have a successful career with no formal education, a degree in English or journalism is highly beneficial is it teaches aspiring writers the key skills they need.

Skill development

Granted, a lot of the time what makes a successful writer is natural talent. However, writers with a university degree will learn many of the writing skills they need during this time. Writers can also further develop their skills by attending courses and training throughout their career.

FAQs

Ask a Question

Have a question about Writer careers? If so, our mentors would love to help! Just click on a mentor’s profile below and then fill out the “Ask a Question” form on that page. Your question will then be emailed to the mentor, who can then email you a reply.

ID	Job Title	Gender	Age	Earnings	City & State	Date
33949	Owner	Male	53	$500,000	Ellijay, GA	01/01/2010
33656	Travel Writer	Female	34	$126,000	LEES SUMMIT, MO	01/01/2010
33522	Publisher/Writer	Female	34	$75,000	Houston, TX	01/01/2010
33224	Freelance Writer	Female	23	$12,000	Roanoke Rapids, NC	01/01/2010
33000	Creative Genius	Female	38	$12,000	GRAY, NY	01/01/2010

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