Good Jobs for Writers

Online Content

Writers can write for online magazines, website owners or create their own websites or blogs, which can make money with Google Adsense, which displays ads on your website. An overview of Google Adsense is found in the Reference section. Writers can find many online opportunities by word of mouth or by becoming members of online writer's forums. The market for writers online is endless, but you do need to know how to market yourself to potential clients to compete with other online writers.

In-house Content

Newspapers, magazines and publishing houses look for writers with a flair for creativity. Newspaper and magazine writers can cover sports, festivals or a number of other events. Book authors can write and publish hard cover or paperback books or e-books that are sold online. Writers can also work for companies writing press releases, sales copy or grant proposals.

Editors

Many editors begin their careers as writers or through internships with well known companies. Editors will edit work that is submitted by writers and make any needed corrections or send the work back to the writer for corrections. Editors can work in-house for a company or telecommute. An example of careers in the editing field include executive editors, managing editors and assistant editors.

Qualifications

Qualifications can vary depending on the type of writing that you are doing. Typically, staff editors and writers for newspapers will be required to have a degree, but a freelance writer may not be required to have a degree if she can produce quality articles with search engine optimization knowledge. If a writer wants to be an expert in one field and write about it, a college education in that field may be needed.

Earnings and Job Outlook

The job outlook for writers is competitive, but, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as newspapers and magazines move their focus to online resources the job industry will open up more writing jobs. Earnings for a writer will vary. Compensation typically depends on the type of writing that you are doing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the median wage for a writer in May 2008 at $53,070 per year. The typical range of pay for a writer is between $38,150 and $75,060 per year, with 10 percent of writers making $28,020 or less. A freelance writer will earn what he negotiates for his work, but generally will not have benefits such as health insurance as a full-time writer would with a company.