Vocational Index

Career

Technical writers

Explain complex things clearly in writing.

$90,390
Median pay
+0.8%
Job growth, 2025–35
3,200
Openings a year
Bachelor's degree
Typical education
4 years
Typical time after high school

Here's what you actually need to know.

The work

What people in this job do

  • Organize material and complete writing assignment according to set standards regarding order, clarity, conciseness, style, and terminology.
  • Maintain records and files of work and revisions.
  • Edit, standardize, or make changes to material prepared by other writers or establishment personnel.
  • Analyze developments in specific field to determine need for revisions in previously published materials and development of new material.
  • Review published materials and recommend revisions or changes in scope, format, content, and methods of reproduction and binding.

The outlook

How the forecast changed this year

2024–34 edition+0.9%2025–35 edition+0.8%
Projected 10-year growth in last year's and this year's BLS projections. 4,500 → 3,200 openings a year.

AI
BLS now cites artificial intelligence in this occupation's outlook: “share decreases as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools grows, allowing technical writers to produce documentation more efficiently.”

The deeper question

What kind of person does this path ask you to become?

What this work centers on

Information & systems
5.3
Creation & expression
4.2
Ideas & analysis
3.7
Objects & tools
2.8
People & care
2.0
Persuasion & leadership
2.0

O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.

The work

Do you want most of your days spent on information & systems, then creation & expression?

Responsibility

Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?

“Organize material and complete writing assignment according to set standards regarding order, clarity, conciseness, style, and terminology.”

Development

What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?

Writing, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking.

Trade-offs

What does it ask of you in exchange?

4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $90,390 a year and 3,200 openings nationally each year.

Paths in

Degrees that lead here

  • Public Relations and AdvertisingSee the degree →
  • Writing and RhetoricSee the degree →
  • Technical and Scientific CommunicationCIP 09.0908
  • Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences CommunicationCIP 19.0202
  • Writing, GeneralCIP 23.1301
  • Professional, Technical, Business, and Scientific WritingCIP 23.1303

Paths across

Careers that use similar skills

Ask anything about this career.

“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.

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Sources

  1. BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  2. BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  3. O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  4. CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.