10 answers
KAREN
Student
Hong Kong
12
Questions
Asked
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Given that being a writer might mean that one would earn little income, should people still pursue writing as a career?
#writing #author #creative-writing What jobs to land on with a degree in creative writing?
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10 answers
Jin Mee Leal
Writer
1
Answer
Sunnyvale, California
Updated
Jin Mee’s Answer
I think it's a misconception that a writing career means earning little income. There are a number of great writing positions that have solid salaries and room for you to grow in your career. Below are just a few:
- Marketing: Copywriting and Content Marketing typically target consumers and have a more creative writing spin.
- Internal Communications: This is usually employee to employee communication. Communication can range from human resource topics, company initiatives, or executive communications.
- Technical Writing: This is usually in partnership with engineering or another technical field. These roles are commonly found in tech industries and require skills to distill complex ideas into simple language.
- Copyediting: This is an important role for any communications department. The skills needed range from editing to proofreading.
- Communications Strategy: These roles have less day-to-day writing and focus more on the bigger picture for communications. This role plans what kinds of communications are needed for a campaign and then works with Writers to have that idea come to fruition.
Keep reading and writing. That'll only make you stronger in your writing career.
If you have the chance, try out different styles of writing so you can get a sense of what you'd like to do professionally.
Reach out to professionals in the field. They can give you advice on how they got to their career.
- Marketing: Copywriting and Content Marketing typically target consumers and have a more creative writing spin.
- Internal Communications: This is usually employee to employee communication. Communication can range from human resource topics, company initiatives, or executive communications.
- Technical Writing: This is usually in partnership with engineering or another technical field. These roles are commonly found in tech industries and require skills to distill complex ideas into simple language.
- Copyediting: This is an important role for any communications department. The skills needed range from editing to proofreading.
- Communications Strategy: These roles have less day-to-day writing and focus more on the bigger picture for communications. This role plans what kinds of communications are needed for a campaign and then works with Writers to have that idea come to fruition.
Jin Mee recommends the following next steps:
Sarah Knebel
Quality Assurance Engineer
3
Answers
Pleasanton, California
Updated
Sarah’s Answer
Hi there! My career path is a perfect example of how a degree in English/Writing can land you in the most unexpected, yet successful situations. I have a degree in English and I'm currently working at a large tech company as a Quality Assurance Engineer. My English degree comes into play with documentation and writing test cases for testing our latest in tech. I believe that with a writing degree, you can make a case for yourself with more career paths than you'd originally expect. Find something you're interested in, and think of ways that your degree could make a difference. In my opinion, the world is never going to not need strong communicators :) Best of luck!
Katie Lynn
Optician
1
Answer
San Diego, California
Updated
Katie’s Answer
Absolutely! Being able to effectively communicate an idea is essential to all aspects of business and personal relationship building. There will be opportunities to flex your writing muscles at different jobs while you support other functions as well.
Keep reading, keep writing, and showcase your skills at every opportunity when representing yourself or your company, in whatever job you have. After being in several different jobs and locations throughout the country, proficient writing skills always stand out and open up doors to advancement.
Keep reading, keep writing, and showcase your skills at every opportunity when representing yourself or your company, in whatever job you have. After being in several different jobs and locations throughout the country, proficient writing skills always stand out and open up doors to advancement.
Marcie Blandford
5
Answers
Updated
Marcie’s Answer
Oh heck yeah! You have developed intense communication and language skills that every company needs and covets. It's hard to figure out right away (it took me a while too) but you will definitely be desirable to a lot of companies for marketing, presentation specialists, supervisors, and I even applied to an assistant brewer position. Don't limit yourself to what you think you need to be applying for right now just because it specifies English (proofreading, editing, copywriting, etc.) because you have a good set of skills that make you malleable in many different positions.
Look for jobs in companies you like and you'll be able to use those skills. You can also apply to MA or MFA programs that compensate you for your classes while you learn to teach undergraduate writing classes, tutor, and gather other skills. Also, look for other volunteer opportunities! Reach out to festivals or events and see if they need any help because that will help you build a resume. For example, I volunteered and wrote film reviews for the Cleveland International Film Festival.
There are a lot of different opportunities you can do, but you just have to keep up with your resources (networking) and figure out what you want to pursue.
Look for jobs in companies you like and you'll be able to use those skills. You can also apply to MA or MFA programs that compensate you for your classes while you learn to teach undergraduate writing classes, tutor, and gather other skills. Also, look for other volunteer opportunities! Reach out to festivals or events and see if they need any help because that will help you build a resume. For example, I volunteered and wrote film reviews for the Cleveland International Film Festival.
There are a lot of different opportunities you can do, but you just have to keep up with your resources (networking) and figure out what you want to pursue.
Pattie Shieh-Lance
Corporate Communications
4
Answers
Houston, Texas
Updated
Pattie’s Answer
Karen, you've asked several questions focused on income but if this is what you're most worried about, you may burning energy in the wrong place.
No one can map out a path that gives you financial security especially when you are young in your career. Your goal should be finding a job that matches your career aspirations.
Right now there is absolutely no way you can see all the jobs that are out there. I have peers who literally wrote their own job descriptions because they worked for a company that had a gap and they successfully created a job that suited them. There are positions you've never heard of that require strong writers such as internal audit or corporate relations. Of course these are in the corporate world.
Everyone needs storytellers these days. PR companies. Marketing companies. Websites. B2C and B2B businesses. But I think you're asking the wrong question. If income is your main requirement, you need to look at the jobs that are in most demand and drive towards that. If you want find areas that hold interest for you, look in these general areas and be ready to learn, observe and be a solid team player.
No one can map out a path that gives you financial security especially when you are young in your career. Your goal should be finding a job that matches your career aspirations.
Right now there is absolutely no way you can see all the jobs that are out there. I have peers who literally wrote their own job descriptions because they worked for a company that had a gap and they successfully created a job that suited them. There are positions you've never heard of that require strong writers such as internal audit or corporate relations. Of course these are in the corporate world.
Everyone needs storytellers these days. PR companies. Marketing companies. Websites. B2C and B2B businesses. But I think you're asking the wrong question. If income is your main requirement, you need to look at the jobs that are in most demand and drive towards that. If you want find areas that hold interest for you, look in these general areas and be ready to learn, observe and be a solid team player.
Mauricio Castillo
Senior Editor
4
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Mauricio’s Answer
I know it can be easy to get cynical about pursuing a writing career (or a creative one, at that); trust me, I've been there. But the written word has survived countless centuries, countless technological advancements, countless societal movements. There is always a place for words.
I, too, suffered under the weight of trying to pursue a career as a writer, but one of the main things that helped was realizing that the term "writer" is far too broad and all-encompassing. The idea of the "general" writer as a career is too simple; the key is to find a job or career path in which you can APPLY your skills as a writer.
Make a list of your hobbies, of your likes and dislikes. Consider any specialties you might have. See how your writing skills can be applied to these. And then seek out companies and opportunities that reflect these skills and specialties.
Maybe it's not a position that automatically sounds like "writer," but it fits what you can do and what you like to do — start there.
Writing is so much more than just words on a page. It's in television, in film, in tech/digital media, in news, in marketing. Shoot, I was writing HR communications for a hospitality group back in the day — never lose hope, and always roll with the punches!
Remember, writers, by nature, are adaptable!
I, too, suffered under the weight of trying to pursue a career as a writer, but one of the main things that helped was realizing that the term "writer" is far too broad and all-encompassing. The idea of the "general" writer as a career is too simple; the key is to find a job or career path in which you can APPLY your skills as a writer.
Make a list of your hobbies, of your likes and dislikes. Consider any specialties you might have. See how your writing skills can be applied to these. And then seek out companies and opportunities that reflect these skills and specialties.
Maybe it's not a position that automatically sounds like "writer," but it fits what you can do and what you like to do — start there.
Writing is so much more than just words on a page. It's in television, in film, in tech/digital media, in news, in marketing. Shoot, I was writing HR communications for a hospitality group back in the day — never lose hope, and always roll with the punches!
Remember, writers, by nature, are adaptable!
Brandon Dang
214
Answers
Seattle, Washington
Updated
Brandon’s Answer
Creative writing can land you in positions that you may not have thought about when considering creative writing from a first glance. There are many companies that are hiring for creative writers in the copywriting field and communications which can pay a decent amount of money once you gained experience in the field. Writing is one of those diverse fields where people first assume that writing books is all that they are good for. In reality they have so much potential to grow in almost any industry.
Simeon Snow
Risk Assurance
1792
Answers
Houston, Texas
Updated
Simeon’s Answer
If you want to earn more income, you'll generally want a degree in journalism or marketing compared to some of the options that pursue writing more directly.
Shawn Kilburn
Technical Writer
4
Answers
Portland, Oregon
Updated
Shawn’s Answer
Although it's true that some writing careers don't make a lot of money (for example, it'd be tough to make a lot of money writing poetry...but then that's always been true :), being able to write well is a skill that's valued pretty much everywhere you'll go.
Some kinds of writing, such as technical writing, can pay quite well. The nice thing about writing is that even if you're making money doing one kind of writing, you can always do creative writing on the side. This is what many writers do and have done. For example, I work professionally writing technical documentation, but I've always done creative writing on the side.
Best of luck to you!
Some kinds of writing, such as technical writing, can pay quite well. The nice thing about writing is that even if you're making money doing one kind of writing, you can always do creative writing on the side. This is what many writers do and have done. For example, I work professionally writing technical documentation, but I've always done creative writing on the side.
Best of luck to you!
Richard A.
physician
2153
Answers
Updated
Richard’s Answer
I would enthusiastically recommend Alexander Chee's How to Write an Autobiographical Novel for a look at a stunning writer's thoughts on how to grapple with the decision to write vs to work in a capitalist society