Writing

Writing Degree

A Writing degree program offers college courses that teach you techniques to communicate information and ideas in an intelligent, compelling manner. The ability to clearly and concisely express ideas and information is an invaluable skill vital to every industry.

Editing, grammar and composition, plot and story development and copywriting courses are offered in most writing degree programs specific to creative writing. Technical writing programs prepare you to take highly technical information and re-write it in a straightforward way so that the average person can understand it. Technical writing degree programs include courses in grammar, proofreading, interviewing and editing.

• Writers with a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree can work as freelancers, choosing to write about a specific subject or for a specific industry. Other careers writers can explore include biographer, novelist, playwright, screenplay writer or textbook writer.
• A bachelor’s degree or master’s degree in communications, journalism or English may be substituted for some technical writing career opportunities. In addition, technical writers might pursue an education in the particular technical subject such as science, law or medicine, to get a leg up on their competition.

Writing Job Opportunities

Companies in a wide array of industries are using newer multimedia technologies and online media to reach consumers and meet the growing demand for Web-based information. Online publications and services are growing in number and sophistication, spurring the demand for web authors, writers, and editors.

Among the 30 percent of salaried writers and authors, about half work in the professional, scientific, and technical services and in publishing industries like newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers.

Employment of technical writers is expected to grow 18 percent, or faster than the average for all occupations, from 2008 to 2018. Demand over this decade is expected to increase because of the continuing expansion of scientific and technical information and the growing presence of customer service and Web-based product support networks. Legal, scientific, and technological developments and discoveries will generate demand for people who can interpret technical information for a general audience.

Source: Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-2011 Edition; Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.