← All careers

Creative & Media

Writers and Authors

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

Median salary

$72,270

Typical range

$41k – $134k

Job outlook

+4% (faster than average)

AI exposure

Plan a path to Writers and Authors

Education

Typical entry: Bachelor's degree

Plan my path to this →

Typical progression

  1. Writers and Authors Intern

    Internship

    $36,000

    ~4 mos to advance

  2. Junior Writers and Authors

    Entry / Junior

    $41,080

    ~2 yrs to advance

  3. Writers and Authors

    Established

    $72,270

    ~3 yrs to advance

  4. Senior Writers and Authors

    Senior

    $102,975

Internships are a common on-ramp here — they speed up landing that first role and improve your odds, which is why the Safe and High-ceiling plans build one in.

Key skills

A typical day

  • 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.
  • Vary language and tone of messages based on product and medium.
  • Present drafts and ideas to clients.
  • Discuss with the client the product, advertising themes and methods, and any changes that should be made in advertising copy.
  • Review advertising trends, consumer surveys, and other data regarding marketing of goods and services to determine the best way to promote products.

Fields of study

Any field

Top colleges for Creative & Media

Explore all

Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.