7 Stellar Writing Careers for the Struggling Graduate
Entry-level opportunities for writers without publishing credits or experience
The amount of recent writing graduates who are scrambling for work in their field is ever-expanding, growing. That’s because all too often in writing programs, whether BA, BFA, MA, or MFA, writers aren’t actually taught the tools they need to succeed and work as professionals.
This has left nearly 50% of writing graduates out in the dark, spinning for options and landing on careers that have nothing to do with what they studied. Statistically, most writers who left with an advanced degree in creative writing ended up in an educational position outside of writing.
The poet who wrote a masterpiece thesis of hybrid work that told the story of their family's immigration out of and into a new country now works as an assistant manager at Barnes and Noble. Same goes for the person who created a fantasy epic their first year and heartbreaking collection of fairy tales that somehow captures the modern American spirit. They coach football at the local high school.
To clarify for people out there, none of those jobs are bad or less than being a writer.
But if you want to work as a professional writer, taking an all-consuming job in retail or education may damper those prospects.
Despite all of that. Writing is becoming the next big thing, the get rich quick scheme, the take-charge-of-your-life-now hustle. So how do you land a career that isn’t in freelancing, teaching, or an unrelated field with the knowledge you’ve worked your ass off for?
Right here, right now.
Hell, even if you want to freelance, these career options would be a great addition to your revenue streams. Not only that, but you’ll be learning how to better your craft while networking within your chosen field. What could be better than that? To actually work as a writer or editor and be able to confidently say, “I am a writer,” whenever anyone asks what you do, what could beat it?
Entry-level writing careers for the recent graduate
My best advice for diving into these roles is to stick as close to your chosen genre or niche as possible. That way you’ll be learning and networking in a way that’ll help you further your career. Another thing that I have found helpful is to stick close to home at first.
Find publications, businesses, and clients near where you live because there’s a better chance of already having a connection with the hiring manager. Also, depending on where you live, you can be operating in a small pond as a big fish.
1. Associate editor/Slush reader
Many of these roles are unpaid, but there are a fair amount of paid positions. Poetry Magazine pays its readers $35/hour. Medium publications like The Writing Cooperation, Better Marketing, The Ascent, PSILY, Entrepreneur's Handbook, and the other ‘Better’ publications get paid $20/story. There are also available positions at literary agencies.
The opportunities don’t stop there either, according to several stats and career predictions, associate editors are employed at book publishers, newspapers, associations, governments, and nonprofits. For better career prospects, stick within the field, and you can expect to see a salary increase up to $60,000. The industry is expected to decline, but as more people publish and turn to the arts and writing or content to communicate, it’s safe to say that associate editors will always be in need.
To align yourself for these roles, follow the pubs and editors you want to work for on all social media platforms and sign up for their newsletters. These’ll be the first places that they’ll post job opportunities.
2. Proofreader
These can be some of the highest-paying entry-level positions offering salaries and benefits. Governments and legal agencies often hire for these roles and offer full-time positions. Within the publishing world, these roles can be found in magazines, webzines, publishing houses, editing agencies, and literary agencies.
In this position, you’ll come across a wide array of stories without having to slug your way through a slush pile. If you find a position within your field, the alignment with what publishable and good writing looks like, will allow you to see ways of improving your own writing. Often these positions also help writers network with other professionals in their field and see what’s being written currently.
Career outlooks for this position are better than most on this list. You can expect to see the career options for proofreaders to rise by at least 7% within the next few decades. Top proofreaders can expect to make nearly 70,000 dollars while most will start out making around $20/hour.
3. Local newspaper writer
Sometimes these are the first roles that professional writers work in. Not only do they allow beginning writers to actually work to a deadline, but they teach writers what it’s like to be professionally edited. And a lot of times, all these roles require of you is to have a BA, sometimes less, and to be local/knowledgeable about the area.
The type of editing you’ll receive on the job is far different from the academic editing you would have received in school. This type of editing is reader or user-oriented and focuses on house styles that can vary from publication to publication. You’ll unlearn and relearn different ways of writing and piecing together stories.
Often these roles pay by the word professional rates or by the article also high rates between $75-$150 for short-form articles ranging from 750–1,500-words. Google or search out what local publications are in operation within your area, see if they’re open to new writers, and send what they request.
4. Social media content creator
This is one of those jobs that to an outside observer might be a gimmick. But businesses, celebrities, and other industries need someone who can write in various voices, lengths, and styles to match the various social media platforms that are out there. With an expected 13% career growth rate between now and 2028, this career option may be one of the more lucrative.
And the great thing about this job? You can get it simply by being active and strategic on a platform. If you’re great at taking pictures and resonating with an audience in short form, Twitter and Instagram are places to focus your efforts. When it comes to long-form, Facebook and blogging sites like Medium are your go-to's.
Learn marketing skills and what works on social media to help later build your own writing brand or move up within the content creation industry to senior roles where you’re the leader of a development team overseeing all communication departments. Starter roles as social media content creators have a median starting salary of $25/hour.
5. Communications Officer
Work on a team of other creatives and learn how to work collaboratively on a project as a communications officer for a company or nonprofit. This is the perfect job for a writer who wants to understand how to build a product, voice, or story in a collaborative manner. I emphasis collaboration because not all creatives are skilled at this.
So, be wary if you are someone who does not like to share.
For this career path, you’ll have to show that you know how to work with others well and are open to learning a company voice that you’ll adhere to for all types of written communication. You’ll handle all internal and external communication for a company or brand. This’ll have you writing a wide range of content from newsletters to press releases to company announcements and white pages.
Out of all the jobs on this list, a communications officer is going to run the highest starting pay between $30-$35/hour. Sometimes even salaried positions are open to recent graduates that pay more and offer a wider range of benefits.
6. Assistant Editor
Learn how editors think and work while learning how writers' work is received and handled by working as an assistant editor at a magazine, publisher, or another imprint. Writers who want a career in the publishing world would be best suited for this career track, but it isn’t necessary.
Wherever you may want to go with your career as a writer, working as an assistant editor will equip you with the skills that you’ll need to communicate with other publishing professionals, arrange an editorial calendar, and read work with an eye for improvement or what is catching. Similar to many other positions, to find these jobs follow the publications you’d like to work for.
You have to be careful with this type of work, however. A lot of positions you may stumble across will offer no pay. Don’t take these unless you’re in the position to do so, or it will give you an ENORMOUS step up in your career by providing networking opportunities. The starting pay for this position is listed at $34,000 a year with a median of $47,000. It’s not a lot, but more than most.
7. Content writer
Similar to the role as a communications officer, the content writer for a business or company writes all of the written content needed. They must adhere to a house style guide and voice, but spend all of their time writing and rewriting, unlike the communications officer that has a bigger role in implementing the content and coming up with ideas.
For a lot of writers, in-house content writing is the dream job because you’re being paid well solely to write. But there is a downside to this type of writing. Oftentimes, you’re stuck writing dry and boring technical work that doesn’t fold into any ‘genre’.
Content writers can look forward to making an average of $29/hour with no professional publishing experience. These jobs can be found by searching on job boards. I have personally found that the prospects are much bigger if you aim closer to home at companies and businesses you may have a stronger connection with.
In support of working outside the writing field
This whole article has been about getting you into the writing field, but before you go, hear me out. There have been many arguments against working as a writer within the writing field. Some say you should find a career that has nothing to do with writing so you can save your creative energy for your own projects.
“Get a day job that doesn’t suck; there is nothing harder to do than to sit down to write after a day so exhausting that your brain has turned off.” ― Mercedes R. Lackey
Not a bad idea. Makes sense. Actually, her whole answer on Quora to the question about starting a career off as a writer is pretty informative, though she can be harsh.
I’ll speak now from my own experience working in a book store and logistics for over a decade before transitioning into freelance writing and editing. Working in an outside field felt like a lie to me. Yeah, I spent my working time focusing on things outside of writing, but it stole a lot of my energy and time that I could have been spending working deeper on my career.
As soon as I took the plunge and stepped away from that type of work I started making accelerated movements within my career. I went from a struggling writer to a professional writer within a year of quitting my job. The more I work within the writing field, the more opportunities are open and available to me.
Then again, I’m not in it just for the novel-writing side. Yes, I am querying a book and want to pen several. It’s not the end goal, though. I want to write and edit lots of things. I don’t want to be Jemisin, though that would be amazing, I want to be Wagner or Ekpeki. The authors who have their names listed as both great writers and editors.
So, working the way I do is perfect for me. It might not be for everyone, however. If these careers aren’t speaking to you, don’t chase them.
Do what makes you happy and feeds your creativity.
Aigner Loren Wilson is a queer Black Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer of America, Horror Writer of America, and Codex writer. Her work has appeared in and is forthcoming from WIRED, Lightspeed Magazine, The Writer, Tordotcom, and more. She is a Hugo Award finalist for her editing and is the author of several speculative fiction books and games.
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