Vocational Index

Career

Writers and authors

Write books, scripts, articles and stories.

$76,910
Median pay
-0.3%
Job growth, 2025–35
11,900
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

  • Write fiction or nonfiction prose, such as short stories, novels, biographies, articles, descriptive or critical analyses, and essays.
  • Revise written material to meet personal standards and to satisfy needs of clients, publishers, directors, or producers.
  • Present drafts and ideas to clients.
  • Edit or rewrite existing written material as necessary, and submit written material for approval by supervisor, editor, or publisher.
  • Conduct research to obtain factual information and authentic detail, using sources such as newspaper accounts, diaries, and interviews.

The outlook

How the forecast changed this year

2024–34 edition+3.6%2025–35 edition-0.3%
Projected 10-year growth in last year's and this year's BLS projections. 13,400 → 11,900 openings a year.

AI
BLS now cites artificial intelligence in this occupation's outlook: “share decreases as more written works are generated by artificial intelligence (AI) tools, substituting for some writers.”

The deeper question

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

What this work centers on

Creation & expression
6.7
Persuasion & leadership
4.8
Information & systems
3.3
Ideas & analysis
3.2
People & care
2.9
Objects & tools
1.0

O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.

The work

Do you want most of your days spent on creation & expression, then persuasion & leadership?

Responsibility

Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?

“Write fiction or nonfiction prose, such as short stories, novels, biographies, articles, descriptive or critical analyses, and essays.”

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 $76,910 a year and 11,900 openings nationally each year.

Paths in

Degrees that lead here

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.