Career profile for Writer

What does a Writer do?

Writers originate and prepare written material, such as scripts, stories, advertisements, and other material.

What kind of tasks does a Writer perform regularly?

Writers are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Discuss with the client the product, advertising themes and methods, and any changes that should be made in advertising copy.
Vary language and tone of messages based on product and medium.
Present drafts and ideas to clients.
Develop advertising campaigns for a wide range of clients, working with an advertising agency's creative director and art director to determine the best way to present advertising information.
Write articles, bulletins, sales letters, speeches, and other related informative, marketing and promotional material.
Conduct research and interviews to determine which of a product's selling features should be promoted.
Invent names for products and write the slogans that appear on packaging, brochures and other promotional material.
Review advertising trends, consumer surveys, and other data regarding marketing of goods and services to determine the best way to promote products.

The above responsibilities are specific to Writers. More generally, Writers are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Thinking Creatively		Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Communicating with People Outside the Organization		Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships		Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work		Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Thinking Creatively

Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

Communicating with People Outside the Organization

Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.

Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships

Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work

Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

What is a Writer salary?

The median salary for a Writer is $67,120, and the average salary is $78,680. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Writer salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Writers earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Writers earn less than $35,880 per year, 25% earn less than $49,310, 75% earn less than $94,090, and 90% earn less than $133,460.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Writers is expected to change by 8.5%, and there should be roughly 15,400 open positions for Writers every year.

Median annual salary: $67,120
Typical salary range: $35,880 - $133,460
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 8.5%

What personality traits are common among Writers?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Writer are usually higher in their Enterprising and Artistic interests.

Writers typically have very strong Enterprising interests. Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Also, Writers typically have very strong Artistic interests. Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Writer tend to value Achievement, Support, and Working Conditions.

Most importantly, Writers strongly value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Second, Writers moderately value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Lastly, Writers moderately value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Writers must consistently demonstrate qualities such as attention to detail, dependability, and innovation.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Writers, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Innovation		Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Innovation

Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

What education and training do Writers need?

Many Writers will have a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Writers usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Educational degrees among Writers

0.7% did not complete high school or secondary school
3.3% completed high school or secondary school
8.5% completed some college coursework
3.2% earned a Associate's degree
49.8% earned a Bachelor's degree
26.3% earned a Master's degree
8.2% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Writers

Writers may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as communications and media, sales and marketing, or customer and personal service knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Writers might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Communications and Media		Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Sales and Marketing		Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Computers and Electronics		Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Administration and Management		Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Communications and Media

Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Sales and Marketing

Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Computers and Electronics

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Important Abilities needed by Writers

Writers must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Writers need abilities such as written comprehension, written expression, and oral comprehension in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Writers, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Near Vision		The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Critical Skills needed by Writers

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Writers frequently use skills like reading comprehension, writing, and active listening to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Writers, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Writing		Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

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